


Again, Again, and Again revised

by BettyHT



Series: You Can't Go Home Again [4]
Category: Bonanza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 14:52:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 36,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16177349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BettyHT/pseuds/BettyHT
Summary: Fourth in the You Can't Go Home series as Adam is home on the Ponderosa sort of as he has built his own home and is working on his own ideas.  He and Cici are developing their relationship and their family.  His brothers get romantic complications in this one too.





	Again, Again, and Again revised

Again, Again, and Again

Chapter 1

Work on Adam's homes began in earnest once he had the plans finished. The small temporary home that would be converted to a bunkhouse eventually was being rushed to be finished as quickly as possible. Even though Adam wedged a chair under the doorknob of their bedroom at the Ponderosa each night he and Cici stayed there, Cici just found it too uncomfortable to think about her father-in-law barging in on them again. That was never likely to happen because Ben still turned a lovely shade of pink every time his faux pas was mentioned which Adam used to good advantage on occasion. Although Ben did not enjoy those moments, he still liked to see that twinkle in Adam's eye and that sardonic smirk of his every time he pulled a little stunt like that. He had seen it first on the morning when Adam and Cici had announced their wedding to the family. It was a long time since he had seen his son act that way and it was wonderful to see him return in personality as well as in person.

Although, in some ways, everyone could see that Adam was different. The most notable difference was that he would no longer take any orders from his father. Ben could ask him to do things and he would consider it and rarely said no, but that no was an option was never in dispute. They both knew that if Adam became dissatisfied in his role, he could and would leave. He had a home waiting for him in Wyoming whenever he wanted it. Reg Castle had made that clear when he was at the wedding party for Adam and Cici. With warmth and enthusiasm, Reg had welcomed Cici into his close circle of family and friends. That he thought so highly of Adam was made quite clear by the way that he, his nephew Robert, and foreman, Bud Knight, traveled at very short notice to be at Adam's wedding celebration. Ben, Hoss, and Joe found themselves a little envious of the close relationship that Adam had to the three men from the Castle Ranch. However, those men had accepted Adam and helped him when he needed it most so Adam's family should not have found it surprising.

At one point in the wedding celebration, Reg had pulled Ben aside to discuss Adam's work. Reg could see that there were hints that Adam was not altogether happy with his role on the Ponderosa. As Ben and Reg stood next to the corral admiring some breeding stock that Joe had recently purchased for the Ponderosa, the discussion was of horses, but the underlying theme had to do with Adam.

"That's a beautiful, strong stallion you have there. He has exceptionally good lines and a strong chest. He should sire some potentially valuable horses for the Ponderosa."

"Yes, I'm very proud of what Joe has been doing with horse buying and selling. The horse breeding operation has developed into a very profitable enterprise for us."

"It would be a shame for that magnificent animal to be a cow pony."

"Oh no, he's too valuable for that. He may be ridden on occasion, but his value is in what he can do here not out on the range. Many horses can be cow ponies, but only a few can be in command of the herd. He's a little ornery, likes to have his own way, but can do things for us that none of the others can."

"He reminds me of Adam."

As Ben thought about their conversation, he realized that Reg had been giving him a not so subtle message about his son, and at first, he resented the man's intrusion. Later as he thought about it and remembered all the projects that Adam had done at the Castle Ranch in just one year, he decided that he ought to reconsider the work he asked Adam to do. He had always said that any job on the Ponderosa was not beneath any of the family to do and often they did some of the most onerous tasks. But Ben rarely did those things any more, and at forty years of age, Adam had done all of them and some for several decades. Perhaps it was time to redefine some of the roles on the ranch. By the time that Reg left after visiting for a few days, Ben was able to thank him for their conversation. Reg knew what he meant, nodded his head, and smiled glad to have been able to help Adam with readjusting to life on the Ponderosa by getting Ben to readjust his thinking.

A few weeks later, at Sunday dinner, there was an opportunity to discuss revising roles on the Ponderosa. All were there and no one had any commitments for that week.

"Sons, there is something that I have been meaning to discuss with all three of you. The Ponderosa has become a very diverse enterprise. It seems a waste of talent to have all of us working on all parts of the ranch. Joe has pretty much taken over the horse operations. I'm thinking we should do that with all of the operations we have."

Hoss smiled. He had been waiting for just such an opportunity. "Pa, I would like to do with the cattle operation what Joe has done with the horses. I think if I can get some better breeding stock in here, we could expand our operations and deliver more meat to San Francisco including shipping some already butchered and ready to sell in the market. I'm thinkin' that with some planning, we could have some of the best stock in these parts so we could also start selling breeding stock to other ranches and make more money per head that way."

"Now that sounds like you've been planning for a while. I like what I'm hearing. What do the rest of you think?" Adam and Joe agreed that it was a good plan. "Adam, what are you thinking?"

"It looks like the mining and lumbering operations would be left for me. I don't mind that at all. It would give me more flexibility in my schedule. I have to admit I'm tired of punching cattle and feeling too old to break horses. With Cici's work, I would rather have the chance to be at the house every night if I could too rather than off on a drive or chasing down mustangs. If Cici gets called out at night or for a call well outside of the city, I'm going with her."

Cici gave him a partial scowl that the others saw quite clearly.

"She doesn't like it, but it is something I have to do."

Adam stared back at her, and the other three knew this conversation had happened before with the two of them and probably more than once. Cici's self sufficiency versus Adam's protectiveness was bound to create a few disagreements between them.

"I would like to do a survey of our timber operations before I say anything about any plans. As for the mining, I need to do some inspections there too before I say anything more."

Hoss did have a request for Adam though. "Adam I was thinking that you could design some of them hay barns for the pastures like ya did with the Castle Ranch."

"I could do that. I would like to do more design work. It would likely be when things calm down especially when the weather starts to turn."

"Hey, Adam, how about an indoor necessary like you did at the Castle Ranch? I think Pa and Hoss would love that too. Could you do one with a big tub in it like some of the fancy houses in San Francisco have?" Joe was excited about the things Adam could do if he had more time to do other projects.

"It could be done."

"Now, I hear all three of you making some plans. How about if each of you draws up your plan and itemizes expenses so together we can make a decision on which projects to move forward with first. We won't be able to afford all of them right away."

"How soon?"

"Well Adam needs some time to get familiar with the lumber and timber operations, so how about in three weeks? Would that be enough time for everyone?"

"When does the division of labor start?"

"Adam, I think there's no reason to delay is there? We could start immediately if that is acceptable to all of you." It was. "I think that the plan could be that tonight, Hoss and Joe can work on the orders for the men for the morning. You can decide which operation you want to start on first. You have been bull of the woods before, and the men in the mines will remember you because we have not hired many miners in the last ten years. In fact, the timber crew is mostly intact from several years ago too. The crew at the lumber mill works with the timber crew as we have shifted men back and forth as needed. How does that sound for a plan?"

It was taking some time for the three sons to get used to their father asking approval for the ideas he set forward. However, they liked the new arrangement. They agreed to his suggestion, but Adam had a question.

"For now, what about cattle drives, roundup, chasing down herds of mustangs, fencing, haying, and things like that?"

"I think that we should discuss each of those like we did tonight and come up with a plan each time. I don't think we can make decisions on all of those things tonight. We will still need to help each other out with big projects or come up with some other means of getting all of them done."

"Hey, Pa, what are you going to be doing? You could do a little horse breaking if you like. I'm a little shorthanded this week, and Adam won't be available."

"I'll continue to do the ledgers with your help or the help of anyone who is available. I'll deal with the Cattleman's Association and with the banks too although when any of you are negotiating contracts then you will deal with the banks as necessary. All the paperwork for that has been in place for years so there is no need to change that practice, but perhaps it would be good for all transactions to now have two of us there each time."

All four men and Cici retired to the chairs in front of the fireplace to share some brandy to seal the new working arrangement. Ben realized he would have to do the most adjusting, but the looks on his sons' faces were all the encouragement he needed to accept that. Cici sat next to Adam on the settee, and as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, she felt how relaxed he was. His father was treating him like a man recognizing his talents, and it was all he had wanted. Cici was sure that Joe and Hoss probably felt the same way. She was sure there would be times when Ben would revert to his old ways, but today had been a big step for this family, and she smiled as she leaned in to her husband's warmth. She found it very nice.

What Cici didn't find to be so nice was that Adam was gone almost every day for the next three weeks. He came home exhausted on Fridays, and they had the weekends except when someone needed her or Adam was working on drawing plans or formulating a budget for his project proposals. The first Friday he returned from the timber camps, he had a variety of bruises and abrasions. He had told her not to worry as he had to establish himself with the men, and he had. Adam assured her that he would not have to do that again nor would he always be so busy, but she wasn't so sure about that.

Finally the temporary home was ready, and Adam and Cici, with Hoss and Joe helping, moved some of her furniture from town to the small house. It wasn't much: a dining table with six chairs, a bed, two dressers, a stove, a kitchen cabinet, and bedding. Adam brought over his desk and drafting table from the Ponderosa and that was about all the little house could hold. Once they brought most of their clothing over to fill the two dressers and brought in supplies and food, they were all set. It was small and cozy, but most importantly, it was private.

As soon as Hoss and Joe drove away after delivering the last items, Adam closed the shutters on the windows and locked the door. Then he sat on a chair and opened his arms for Cici to sit with him. As she went to sit, he pulled her to straddle his legs.

"Adam, I can't sit that way with this dress on."

"You can if I pull your dress up a little like this."

As Adam caressed her now bare legs, Cici leaned in to kiss him. Adam raised his hands from her legs and began unbuttoning her dress.

"Adam, it's the middle of the day!"

"Yes, and we are in our own home with all the privacy you could want. I don't want to wait another moment. You can make all the noise you want, and no one will care. Well I will care, but I'll like it."

"You are such a bad boy sometimes."

"I think you knew that when you married me."

"I did. I do."

Later, as they embraced, still sitting on the chair, Adam caressed Cici's back.

"If we keep going like this, there's going to be another little Cartwright soon I think."

"Adam, there already is."

Startled, Adam pulled back a little from Cici to look at her face. When he saw that smile, he knew she wasn't teasing him. He kissed her again with all the passion he felt for his wonderful vivacious wife. And then she knew too that he was as happy with the news as she was. Waiting to have children because they were so busy didn't seem important at all any more. She knew that they would both welcome and love this child unconditionally.

Unfortunately contrary to what Adam had concluded about the timber camps though, he had not established himself as well as he thought. He had fought the foreman and won which should have been enough. But the foreman and the men he had working in one of the camps were selling timber to another lumber operation making a significant amount of money doing so. If Adam spent too much time at the camps, they knew he would begin to notice the discrepancies in reports and ledgers versus what he could see of the production. By their estimation, he had to be stopped or their profitable side trade was going to be lost. The other Cartwrights had trusted the foreman for years and had no reason to suspect his illegal deals, but Adam didn't know him and would be more suspicious and skeptical. If he told a story, Adam wouldn't believe it and would check it out. The foreman already knew that much about him. He and the others already had plans in the works to rid themselves of what they considered to be this pesky Cartwright's interference.

 

Chapter 2

In the timber camp, the foreman, Dick Chesky, was trying to come up with a fool proof plan to get Adam Cartwright out of their hair until the logging season was over or at least until they had six to eight weeks of uninterrupted thievery. Their plan was that they would send as many logs as they could for sale to the lumber company that had no concerns over where they got the logs. He had convinced his crew that they had to make a final big haul and then get out. No matter what they did, there was going to be more scrutiny of the timber camp with Adam in charge, and they would be caught if they tried to do this much longer. However, in six to eight weeks, they thought that they could pull in enough cash to satisfy even the greediest among them. Then they could pull out taking all the stock and whatever tools they could carry with them to work another timber camp somewhere, maybe in Oregon or Washington. One logger, Hugh Allenby, was all for just bushwhacking Adam. The others, who knew the Cartwrights better, insisted that if they killed him, the others wouldn't stop until they tracked them all down and made them face justice one way or another.

"Those Cartwrights is thick. If'n you hurt one, the others are on ya like a she bear what's protecting her get."

"Well, we know can't get him charged with no crime or nothing. Everybody'd be suspicious of that now cause it's been tried. We could try making a lot of things go wrong here so's he'd get blamed, but he'd likely see enough before that got his butt kicked out as boss by his daddy. Naw, we need him out of the way. Unseen, unheard, like he up and rode off. Nothing to send suspicion this way though. Nothing can happen to him here. He's been gone for years so maybe they might think he up and left again."

"You're right. That might jest work, and then after we do what we plan to do, we kin make sure he kin get himself free. They might be so happy to git him back, they don't try to track us down."

"They won't be able to if we keep him where he can't figure out who's in charge or who's doing what. We gotta jest put him somewhere where nobody can talk ta him or tell him nottin and he cain't see nottin neither."

Bobby Joswish suggested they kidnap him and hold him away from the camp but nearby so they could control him. If their plan failed to get money from the logging, they could collect a ransom instead. The others thought Bob's plan had some good possibilities. But where could they keep him for a month or more without anyone getting suspicious was the next big question.

"There's an old mountain man's shack in that timber we was told not to cut so no one goes there. It's all stove in on one side, but the chimney is still standing and holding up the other side. It would be good enough for someone to stay through the summer and even into the early fall. Wouldn't be any good when winter come though."

"We'll be gone by winter. Heck if it all works out, we'll be gone in two months maybe."

Dick had worked a lot of scams in his life. The key to him was not getting caught. Any plan had to have a back up plan for that reason.

"Boys, what if they come up here looking for him. Wouldn't take long to find smoke coming from an abandoned shack. Especially since it's in an area we ain't supposed to touch."

"Well it ain't that cold up here in the summer, so we could just give him a few extra blankets instead of a fire at least for the first few weeks."

"I got another idea to put them off the scent. Bobby, you're about his build. How would you like to take his horse, ride over them mountains to California, and spend some time with a lady."

"Geez, Dick, that sounds great but where would I get the money and why would I do that? I want my share here."

"Well, boys, if'n we hide him here, one way to get them not to look too hard is to make them think he's someplace else. Once we get him, we take his clothes and dress Bobby in them. Send Bobby with his horse and gear over the mountains to shack up with a woman somewhere. He'll have to swing by Virginia City at least a bit so people can see him. Then head west and go through Placerville. Next find some little town and an agreeable whore and spend a few days. After that, Bobby could up and ride out of that town. Then he could sell that horse, buy another, and head back here dressed as himself. Meanwhile I could assure them that we was doing our best to carry out the contracts he set us up to do. By the time they know otherwise cause they miss the contract deadlines, it'll be too late. We'll be gone and our pockets will be full of cash. Now the other crew is still sending the logs where they're supposed to go so nobody's likely to get suspicious right off. I still think we gotta think about cutting and running in about eight weeks to be safe."

The others nodded. Some didn't comprehend all that was going on but if the leaders thought it was good, they were all right with it. They had been getting a lot of extra cash doing as they were told so no one was going to object.

"All right then, it's a plan. Now he's scheduled to come up here today. Two of you are gonna go to him at his home to tell him that we got a real problem. Maybe tell him the flume collapsed. Make sure his wife ain't there when you talk to him. Then you need to grab him before he heads back here cause we can't have anybody say they saw him heading this way at all. Make sure there ain't no note or nothing saying where he's going. We don't want 'em looking up here right off."

It was a rather elaborate plan and there were a lot of things that could go wrong, but greed stopped Dick from canceling it altogether and leaving right then.

The object of their predawn planning was just waking up. Awaking with his wife at his side was perhaps the most pleasurable experience Adam could imagine. It was satisfying on so many levels: physical, mental, and emotional. Adam had never been this content in his life and felt that he had found what he had been seeking for so long. Late at night, he had opened the shutters on two of the windows before they went to bed so that the moonlight would let them see where things were and they could enjoy a little fresh air the evening breezes would send. The glow from the fireplace helped in cold weather, but it was hot now and the fireplace remained unused. The kitchen stove was there to supply any heat that was needed in the mornings or on a chilly day.

As the dawn brightened the room, Adam lay very still and watched Cici sleep. She looked so relaxed. He tried so see if he could see a difference in her that some said they could see in a pregnant woman. Frowning as he looked, he could see nothing so he thought perhaps it was the joy that people were seeing when they said a pregnant woman had that glow. He was anxious to tell his father and brothers, but Cici wanted to wait for a month to be sure there were no problems. If there was a miscarriage, she did not want anyone else to know. He had never imagined how wonderful it felt to have the woman you loved carrying your child. Slowly as she began to stir, Adam leaned over and trailed kisses from her forehead to her chin. Her eyes blinked open and she smiled into his face, which was only inches from hers. She could feel the warmth of him along her side and snuggled up against him.

"Good morning, sweetheart. You are so beautiful."

"Hmm, I don't think I am ever going to get tired of being awakened this way."

"I wish I had more time to make you feel special, but we both need to get going quickly today. I have to get to the timber camp again, and you have to be at your office for appointments."

Rolling over on her side to face him, Cici caressed the black curly hair on his chest, and then kissed his neck, cheek, and then his lips. "Are you absolutely sure we don't have a little extra time. We could skip breakfast?"

As Adam looked down at Cici lying at his side gazing at him with those wide innocent eyes, he smiled at her knowing she could be more seductive with those eyes than anything. He couldn't resist her, as if he wanted to anyway. He leaned down to kiss her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down on top of her. Their loving had been more patient and almost languorous compared to what happened that morning as Cici showed an intensity to her passion he had not seen before. Every day was a revelation to them as they learned more about the other. He loved her more with each passing day and told her so as they lay in an embrace later. Then it really was time to get moving, and they hurried through their morning tasks. Adam went out to get the carriage ready for Cici and pulled it up to the house just as she exited. With a kiss that promised more, Cici climbed into the carriage and drove off to Virginia City. Adam went inside to get his saddlebags. As he came out, two men from the timber camp rode up.

"We got big problems, Mr. Cartwright. One of the supports for the main flume must a been anchored in loose ground. The ground slid, the post fell, and the flume collapsed right in the middle as we was sending logs down."

"Was anyone injured?"

"Nah, we was lucky, but it shur is a big mess."

Adam went back inside to get more clothing and supplies for at least an overnight stay and to leave a note for Cici. He instructed the men to wait for him. As he left the house, he was hit in the stomach and as he doubled over, he was hit in the side of the head. It wasn't too hard because they didn't want to chance killing him, but it stunned him. The surprise of the attack had left him defenseless. Bobby started to unbutton Adam's shirt to pull it off. When that was done he tied Adam's hands together at the wrist. Adam was still groggy and they pushed him down, unbuckled his gunbelt, and pulled off his boots and pants. Quickly, Bobby donned Adam's outfit. They rolled Adam in a blanket and laid him on his stomach over Bobby's horse and tied his feet to his wrists under the horse. They tied other supplies around him so that it looked like a packhorse carrying supplies. Adam started to moan so Bobby pulled up the blanket and gagged him. The men went inside and found the note and took it. They went to the dressers and found the one that had Adam's clothing in it. They pulled the drawers out and made it look like he had packed in a hurry.

Bobby then rode toward Virginia City but slowly because he didn't want to overtake Cici's carriage. Once he was inside the city limits, he made sure he was seen but kept his hat pulled low and took the road out of town headed west toward Placerville. Hugh rode off toward the lumber camp leading what looked to be a packhorse, which is what the building crew thought as they rode in to work on the house on the hill. Hugh was very pleased to be hauling the boss man around this way. Nothing felt better to him than humiliating rich people. He knew that the others wouldn't let him kill Cartwright, but he had some ideas on how to make him miserable until it was time to let him go.

When Hugh arrived at the timber camp with the 'supplies', he and a few of the men went to the abandoned and half collapsed mountain man cabin. The brought a logging chain and a collar. Once at the cabin, they drilled a hole in the fireplace wall and attached the logging chain. One of the men used tools to attach the collar to Adam's wrist and then attached that to the chain. He was now shackled with no hope of breaking free with about ten feet of heavy chain to lug when he tried to move around. Adam was wide-awake by then, but every resistance was met with blows so he refrained from resisting them as he tried to determine why they were doing this to him, where he was, and what his options might be. Outnumbered and dressed only in his shortalls and socks, he wouldn't get far in any case even if he had somehow broken free. There was a bucket of water and an empty bucket to use as a slop bucket. The men threw down two blankets before leaving. After they had removed his gag, he had asked what was going on but only got rude laughter as a response. Adam was as alone as he had ever been and had no idea why.

At the end of the day, Cici packed up the food she had gotten from some patients that day and headed home. The building crew who had been working on their new home had already left. Once home, she stabled the horses and then went inside where she was surprised to see Adam's dresser drawers open and some clothing strewn about. She straightened up the mess and put the roasted chicken on the stove to keep it warm. Two hours later she was still waiting for Adam and beginning to get worried. He had never been this late. He knew she would be nervous here alone and made it a point to be home. If he couldn't be home with her, he told her to stay in town. This morning he had said nothing about being late only that he was going to collect the ledgers from the camps so he could review them. As dusk approached, Cici saddled her horse Sassy and rode toward the Ponderosa main house. If Adam was headed home, she would see him on the way. If not, she would have the other Cartwright men to alert, and perhaps they would know what had happened.

However when she delivered her news, Ben and Hoss were as surprised as she was because they had not seen Adam. Joe was away delivering some horses. Ben told Cici to spend the night at the ranch house and in the morning, one of them would ride to the timber camp at dawn to find out what had happened. Cici had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. As the sky began to lighten in the morning, she rose and dressed. Staying in bed wasn't doing any good anyway. As she walked down the stairs, she wasn't surprised to see Ben and Hoss already at the dining table finishing breakfast. With a good morning, Hoss was on his way. Cici could see that both Ben and Hoss were worried which only intensified her bad feelings about this.

At the timber camp, Adam woke shivering intensely. Two blankets might have been enough if he had his clothing. But nearly naked and sleeping on the cold ground up on the mountain side, he was chilled through and through. When a man brought a plate of food, he asked for a cup of coffee but only saw a retreating back as an answer. The food was cold too which meant to him that it had been cooked quite a distance from where he was. He could hear noises from quite a long way that sounded like a timber camp and the two men who had taken him were loggers so he concluded he was near one of the timber camps but had no idea which one. With the light of day, he searched the cabin for anything to use to try to escape. He found the very rusty broken blade of a knife and another piece of flat metal of unknown origin. Neither of those was of any use in removing the collar fixed to his wrist. He tucked the items away in the debris to one side of the collapsed cabin wall never knowing if he would find a use for them.

That morning as Adam was doing his exploring and trying to find a way out of his dilemma, Hoss arrived at the upper timber camp, and Dick came out to meet him.

"Thought it would be your brother. He was supposed to be up here yesterday, but we never saw him."

"Dadburnit, I was hoping he was here. Mebbe he's at the lower camp."

"I went down there last night thinking the same thing, and he wasn't there. You could go check to see if he's there now. Let me know if you see him. I wanted to go over a few plans with him."

Smiling as Hoss left, Dick was rather proud of his performance. It had seemed to convince the big man rather well. Hoss did ride to see the men at the lower camp who had not seen Adam either. Then he rode back to the Ponderosa using the trail he thought that Adam would have used. He saw a lot of tracks but nothing of his older brother. He hated the news he was going to have to deliver to Cici and his pa because this wasn't good, not good at all. As he rode away, the conspirators saw him leave and met to talk over their plan.

"Well, Dick, look like we got him bamboozled right proper."

"Hugh, for now, it's all right. But don't underestimate these Cartwrights. They didn't get to own all they have by being stupid. We have to be careful, very careful."

When Hoss returned to the Ponderosa, his father was upset, but Cici was distraught. She couldn't have found her true love only to lose him so soon. She worried that their baby might never know his father as she feared the worst. Once she stopped crying, Ben helped her into the carriage that Hoss had readied. They rode into town to report Adam's disappearance. When they did, Roy said he had seen Adam in town the morning before but that he had ridden out on the road to Placerville. Cici was stunned. It couldn't be true. Ben and Hoss were speechless as well. None of them had any idea what had happened. By that night back on the Ponderosa, Joe was back and the four of them discussed what they could do. Joe said he was riding after him to find out what was going on, and Hoss said he would join him.

"I don't think Adam went west."

"Cici, Roy saw him riding that way."

"I know what he said, but Adam would not leave without telling me. Not now especially."

"Cici, daughter, what is so special about now?"

"We are going to have a baby. Adam was so thrilled and wanted to tell you right away. I asked him to wait a month because if I miscarried early, I didn't want anyone to know. He was counting the days until he could tell you. Yesterday morning, he was as loving as ever. He did not leave. Something else happened. You have to trust him, you just have to."

Remembering how the lack of trust had almost lost Adam the last time caused all three of the men to pause. Ben accepted fully what Cici had said. Joe and Hoss nodded.

"We have to find out who that man was then and what has happened. Hoss and Joe will head that way until they find him. He has got to have some answers to this puzzle. You'll stay here until Adam is back."

Cici nodded and smiled at Ben and Adam's brothers even as tears rolled down her cheeks. They had to find him and this was the only clue they had.

 

Chapter 3

At first light the next day, Hoss and Joe rode out going cross country to get to Placerville sooner. Once there, they questioned people and found that the man they were following had passed through. No one seemed to know which way he was going. It was the same story in each small town they passed through once reaching the main road. They rode to every small town near the road and in one, they were sent to the saloon because he had been seen there just that morning. Inside they asked for him and were told that 'Adam Cartwright' had been spending time with Julie Ann. For a small fee, they were allowed to go upstairs to wake her and question her. She described a man just over six feet tall with black wavy hair, all black shirt, pants, and boots, a holster with a silver C on it, saddlebags with the Ponderosa brand, and a rifle with a large C engraved on the stock. Joe and Hoss didn't know what to think.

"Who is he to you boys anyway?"

Joe was perplexed and explained to her what they were doing hoping that she might still be able to help them somehow. "We're looking for our brother Adam. We just don't think the man you were with was Adam, but we don't know what to make of things you told us."

"Well, sugar, I could give you a real good time while you were thinking. I could take on the big brother too afterwards. Not a lot of business in this town."

Joe declined and started to leave but was stopped in his tracks by her next statement.

"Well sugar, I was just hoping you was better in bed than your brother. He sure did not have much in the way of manliness and never gave a thought to how I was feeling."

Joe turned slowly and Hoss was shaking his head. It didn't sound much like Adam. Joe decided that there might yet be one way to know if it was or not.

"Julie Ann, what color were his eyes?"

"Well, sugar, you ought to know your own brother's eyes. They were the most beautiful light blue eyes I ever saw. Just like that big brother of yours there. That's how I knew you was telling the truth. Those two have to be brothers with eyes like that. Those eyes and that beautiful smooth muscled chest, and I was almost in love with him the first time I saw him."

Hoss was smiling now and nodding at Joe. Cici was right. There was something strange going on here. Joe tossed a gold piece to Julie Ann.

"Darling, I don't know who you were with, but my brother Adam has hazel eyes and his chest is pretty well furred. Somebody is playing a game, and we're going to find out who and why."

Joe stopped at the sheriff's office to let them know what had happened. Hoss sent a telegram to let Cici and Ben know what they had found. Next they had to decide what to do with what they knew.

"Hoss, ready to do some tracking?"

"Joe, how am I ever going to find Sport's tracks in all the tracks in and out of this town?"

"Adam was getting real fancy last time he worked the forge. He was putting little c's on all the horseshoes he made. I know he recently shoed Sport's back legs so all we need to do is find that mark and we'll know where we're going next."

Grinning then as he remembered what Adam had done, Hoss nodded. He might be able to do what Joe had requested. Just west of town, Hoss found Sport's prints and they were heading north. They followed that trail until they came upon a small ranch where they saw Sport in the corral. They both made sure their pistols and rifles were ready to use and rode down into the ranch yard. A woman and what looked to be her three children came out to greet them. She explained that her husband was working near by and if they wanted to talk to him about the horse trade he made that morning, just fire two shots and he would come running. They did, and he did riding in with several ranch hands expecting trouble. Instead he found Joe and Hoss leaning up against the corral fence and talking with Sport who seemed very happy to see them and his former stable mates.

"I bought that horse all legal like. I got a bill of sale and everything. Traded him for one of my horses. Now if that isn't all right with the man that sold him, that's too bad. I wondered why he wanted to trade his fine horse and gear for one of mine with my old saddle but it was too good a deal to pass up."

"Mister, that's all well and good except this horse is stolen. He belongs to our oldest brother and he's got our brand on him. If we have to get the sheriff here, we will."

Joe was bound and determined that they would at least be returning with Sport. The man was hesitant to let the horse go but when Hoss offered to pay him fifty dollars for his trouble, he got very agreeable. He could get another horse equal to the one he had traded away, a new saddle, and still have some money left without having any trouble with the sheriff. He then admitted that the man had included the saddle, rifle, pistol, and saddlebags so he should have suspected it was all stolen. But he also showed them the trail the man had used to leave. He was headed directly back to the Ponderosa. The man's wife offered to fix up some food for them and within a short time, they were on the trail leading Sport who was again carrying Adam's saddle, rifle, and saddlebags. Within two days, they were nearing the Ponderosa timber camps following the obvious trail the man had left. It was clear that he had no idea he was being followed.

There was no way now to let Ben and Cici know what was happening. But back home, Ben had started doing some investigating himself. That same day he had been talking to the building crew who continued building Adam's new house. They mentioned seeing a man leaving with a packhorse loaded down the day Adam disappeared. By the description, it sounded like he was a logger and the direction he rode would have taken him to the Ponderosa timber camps. Ben rode home and got Candy and a few of the hands ready to ride with him to the timber camps the following morning at first light. Something was wrong up there and he meant to find out what it was.

At the upper timber camp, Hugh had been making Adam's stay as miserable as he could. The second afternoon when he brought Adam's meal, he had kicked over the slop bucket onto the two blankets Adam had to stay warm. Then Hugh urinated in the water bucket before he had laughed and walked away. Adam had not reacted at all. He had known men like that in prison. They took their joy from inflicting pain on others. The more you showed how it affected you, the more they would do. He would find a way to get justice but at that moment had no idea how. Using the metal pieces he had found, Adam was digging around the bolt secured in the fireplace wall. He was making some progress, but he was afraid it would take days to weaken it enough to pull it loose. After Hugh's treatment of him though, he worked at it with renewed diligence. After five days of effort, he thought he could see some movement of the bolt. He used the heavy chain to apply additional pressure pulling it down and then to the left and to the right. As he sawed away at it that way, rock dust gradually started to fall in minute amounts. After working all day at it, he began to think he might be able to pull it loose that night. His hands were bloodied with the effort and the lack of food was making him weak. He got one or two meals a day of cold food and a bucket of water. Although Hugh had made a practice in the afternoon of fouling his water so he drank as much as he could before Hugh got there to torment him. He washed his hands and did his best to cover them so that the blood would not be apparent and sat and waited for Hugh to show. Once that was over, he ate the food quickly and got back to sawing away with the chain on the bolt until long after the sun had set and the stars appeared.

Without warning it pulled free and fell to the ground. Adam just stood there for a time. He was free but he had little clothing and no boots. He used the blade of the broken knife to saw through one of the blankets which he used to pad his feet and then tore strips to tie those pads securely to his feet. He cut a slit in the other blanket and pulled it over his head securing it with a tie made from the last of the first blanket. They were filthy and smelled awful but he had no choice. He took the bolt and the broken knife blade with him by sticking them in his makeshift belt. The next problem was the heavy logging chain. He picked it up and looped it around his shoulders. There was no other choice. As Adam stepped from his makeshift prison, he looked to the timber camps. If he headed directly home he would have to pass both camps. It wouldn't work. The chain itself made too much noise. He would be heard. So he headed west toward the Paiute summer camp. He hoped they would recognize him before they shot him as an intruder. That is, he hoped that would be the case if he got to the camp at all. He had miles to go, and by morning his 'jailors' would be in pursuit of him. He would only have a short head start if he left at first light. Typically it was several hours after that before anyone brought him a meal and water.

If he had only known that his brothers were coming toward him from the west and his father and ranch hands were coming from the south, he could have waited for rescue. When Ben got to the timber camps, no one could find the foreman. The men who were there claimed not to know what he might be doing. Candy spoke quietly to Ben.

"There's something wrong here. These men should be out working by now, but no one who can give orders is here. These guys are nervous too. They know a lot more than they're letting on."

Candy worked his way down the line of Ponderosa hands. Once he got to the last man, he pulled his rifle and all of the men including Ben did the same. They ordered the loggers to drop any tools or weapons they had, and to stand in a line.

"Now, gentlemen, we are going to try this again. Mr. Cartwright has some questions, and he is going to get some answers. The first man in line is going to be the first one shot when a question isn't answered. Then we're going to shoot the second man when the second question isn't answered. I guarantee you we will be getting answers eventually so you might as well start talking now."

"You won't do that. That's murder."

"Mr. Cartwright's son is missing. He may be dead. Do you think we care about your lives at this point?"

Ben sat there looking as formidable as he could. Although he found Candy's statements abhorrent, he couldn't show that. The bluff would only work if some of these men at least believed what he said.

"They got him over in that broke down cabin on the next hill. Only this morning they found he was gone so they went after him."

Suddenly there was no shortage of men who wanted to talk. Ben and Candy left a few of the men to guard them and headed out to follow the trail of the men tracking Adam. Dick, Hugh, and the others had horses and were making good time tracking Adam, but Adam knew the terrain and knew where he was going. He also knew how to go places that made it extremely difficult for anyone to follow. A number of times they had to stop to search for his tracks. They always found them, but it was taking far longer than expected. They also could not figure out why he was heading west. At first they thought he meant to mislead them, but after hours of travel, it was clear that west was his intention. It just took him deeper into wilderness and eventually he would go right off the Ponderosa. They wondered if maybe he wasn't as smart as people said.

As the day wore on, Adam believed he was nearing the Paiute camp, but he could hear his pursuers and knew he had little time. He tried to run but only managed a slightly faster pace. His weakness and the weight of the chain as well as the blanket padding on his feet simply did not allow him to move any faster. As he heard his pursuers break through the tree line behind him, he thought he saw some Paiute braves on the hill to his right. He raised his arm in greeting as he heard a yell behind him.

"Adam Cartwright, hold it right there or I'll put a bullet in you right now."

Adam was not going to stop. He refused to die as a prisoner of anyone. He heard a rifle shot and was amazed not to feel a bullet's impact. He stopped and looked behind him. Hugh had dismounted to steady his aim, but he had dropped his rifle as he clutched at the arrow that had pierced his neck. Blood was spurting out staining his hands, arms, shirt, and the ground in front of him. Inadvertently by calling out to Adam, he had alerted the Paiute as to the identity of the man he was going to shoot. They stopped him. The Paiute would not have known that this bearded, filthy man in rags and carrying a chain was their friend, Adam Cartwright, except for Hugh's yell.

When they saw what happened to Hugh, Dick and the others chose to retreat but had ridden only a short distance when they met Ben, Candy, and the men from the Ponderosa. A few loggers tried to fight it out, but were quickly shot. Dick and the others offered no resistance. Dick shook his head and thought to himself that he should never have taken on the Cartwrights but should have cut and run as soon as Adam came into the camp to take charge.

The Paiutes had ridden up to Adam after the others fled.

"What has happened to you, Adam Cartwright?"

"Thank you for saving my life. It's a long story. If there's a creek near here that I could jump in to clean up, I'll tell it to you."

Having heard gunfire, Joe and Hoss rode fast in the direction of the shots. When they arrived, they found Ben, Candy, and ranch hands taking custody of a group of loggers. Ben and Candy filled them in on what had happened to Adam but that they still didn't know where he was. The hands took the loggers back to the timber camp and were told to haul the whole bunch into Virginia City where Roy could sort out who was guilty of what. Candy said to gag them all so they couldn't work out a story or threaten anyone who wanted to confess. Ben, Hoss, and Joe agreed that was a good idea.

Then with Hoss in the lead, they started tracking again. First they followed the loggers' tracks because they had obliterated any sign of Adam's footprints. In just a short time, they found Hugh. The arrow had been pulled from his neck, and he was a bloody mess laying on his back staring sightlessly at the sky. Knowing what he had done, they just left him for the time being. They could come back and bury him if they had time. From that point, they followed Adam's tracks only a short distance until there were tracks of many unshod horses. Believing the Paiute had come to Adam's rescue, they followed those tracks. Nearing a stream by the sound of rushing water, Hoss thought he could hear voices. Ben called out Adam's name. A Paiute brave stepped out of the woods only ten feet in front of Hoss and signaled that they should ride forward. The scene they rode into was unlike any they had expected. Adam sat in the stream, naked, bearded, and regaling the braves with his story using a combination of Paiute and English to tell the tale. When he used English words, he paused to let those who understood him translate for the others. The braves were laughing and commenting on his story. Adam had always been a good storyteller.

"Hi Pa. Good to see all of you. I hope someone has some extra clothes with him because I'm clean out of clothing."

There was a pile of stinking cloth on the stream bank. Adam asked if anyone could use a stick and carry it off or maybe burn it. Then he stood to climb out of the stream and lifted his ten-foot logging chain to carry it out. Hoss stepped up to the edge of the stream and helped him climb out. Adam sat wearily on the grass. When he looked up, the Paiute were gone. As Adam had come closer to them, Ben and the others could see the bruises on his torso, and the cuts and broken blisters on his hands. Candy walked over and handed a few tools to Hoss. It was all they had with them. Hoss said he could get the chain off he thought with those but he would need tools at the Ponderosa to remove the collar. Adam was just happy to get rid of the darn logging chain. Joe walked up with Adam's saddlebags, and Adam just looked up at him with wonder. Joe was rather proud to be able to explain what they did.

"We followed one of the men who did this to you, and got Sport and your gear back for you. We lost him in these hills. But we were close enough when we got here to hear the rifle fire and rode in to find that Pa and Candy had the loggers well in hand."

After Hoss spent a half hour cutting through the chain, Adam pulled a shirt and pants from his saddlebag. He didn't remember packing any pants but he was glad they were in there. He had a pair of socks but no boots. Sport would react to his commands so boots weren't most important thing he thought but they would help him to stay horsed which did turn out to be a problem later. As he stood, he staggered and Hoss went to support him. Ben suggested they would get him back to the timber camp and he could sleep there.

"No I want to go home. I need to go home." Adam was most concerned about his wife and wanted to see her as soon as he could.

Hoss helped him get on Sport, and Joe rode to one side and Hoss to the other to make sure he didn't fall off. They headed slowly toward the Ponderosa ranch house. About halfway there, Adam was swaying in the saddle so much there was a good chance he would fall off. They halted at Joe's suggestion. Joe pulled Adam's feet from the stirrups and then mounted up behind Adam on Sport.

"Now Adam, just give me the reins and we'll get you home to Cici."

It was apparent how exhausted the man was by how easily he handed over the reins to Joe. Candy offered to spell Joe if it got to be too much, and they did that about an hour later taking turns until they finally saw the ranch house in the distance. Hoss had ridden ahead to let Cici know they were coming home with Adam and that he was all right. As they waited, he told her all he knew of what Adam had been through. Both of them were yet again surprised at what men would do because of greed.

Cici was standing in the yard waiting with Hoss when they saw the horses break through the tree line at the closest pastureland. Cici started crying and Hoss wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him but kept her eyes focused on the group of men approaching. Hoss had warned her that Adam was exhausted, but she was still astonished at how haggard he looked when they rode into the yard. Joe told him they were home and Adam lifted his head for the first time in over an hour. He saw Cici waiting for him.

"Oh my God, you are the most beautiful sight in the world."

"Hoss, could you come and help me get our sappy brother down from this horse and into the house for some sleep? Maybe he'll be back to his usual self after he sleeps for a day or two."

Hoss helped him down and then pulled one of Adam's arms over his shoulder, and Joe got the other one as Candy took charge of the horses. Ben guided Cici into the house, which was difficult because she couldn't seem to take her eyes off of Adam. Inside they helped Adam into the downstairs bedroom for convenience sake at this point. Ben helped Cici unbutton his shirt and remove it as Hoss and Joe pulled off his boots. Cici opened his belt and the three men started to exit the room.

"Aren't you going to help with his pants?"

"Well, darling, he ain't wearing nothing underneath them pants so you could just leave them on. If you choose to remove them, we'll let you do it in privacy."

Hoss, blushing a little, began to pull the door closed.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"In a little while, could you bring my bag in here? I want to put some dressings on his hands and clean up the abrasions too."

As Cici opened the buttons on his fly, Adam pulled her into an embrace. But he didn't have the energy for it and began to fall asleep. Cici luxuriated in his warm embrace with her head resting on his chest listening to his heartbeat until she heard his breathing settle into a sleep pattern. Then she removed his pants and pulled the sheet and comforter over him. He didn't move during any of it. She sat in the chair by the bed then and held his hand and stroked the back of it. He was safe and their baby would know his father. She couldn't ask for anything more at this point.

 

Chapter 4

Early the next morning, Adam awoke with a nice warm wife snuggled into his side with her head resting on his chest. He ran his fingers through the long loose strands of her hair. He loved it when she had her hair loose and hanging down past her shoulders. He would have liked to do more but the bandages on his hands and the swollen fingers made it difficult. The metal on his wrist was gone so Hoss must have removed it at some point the previous night. He had no memory of that at all. Cici began to stir.

"This may be my new favorite way of sleeping. Your chest is nice and warm and your heartbeat is very soothing. I wonder if a baby feels that way sleeping in its mother's womb with that steady heartbeat providing constant reassurance that everything is all right?"

"You're not wearing anything! Not that I'm complaining. Just surprised."

"Well I didn't exactly pack for a stay when I rushed over here to try to find you a week ago, and what I did go get is in the room we usually use upstairs. I didn't want to leave you."

"I'm sorry about that. I still have no idea why those men kidnapped me and held me on the mountain. I know Pa and Joe were trying to explain it to me but yesterday is kind of foggy."

Cici started to explain what had happened and why but was distracted by Adam's roving fingers. He might have done more but the bandages on his hands limited his actions. As he slid his fingertips over her lower abdomen, he got a quizzical expression on his face.

"No, you won't be able to feel anything different yet. It's only been two months. By next month, I think there may be a noticeable bump developing. Oh, and I'm sorry that I ruined your surprise, but I told your father and brothers that we are having a baby."

Cici winced a little, worried at how Adam would take that news. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a kiss. She knew it was all right.

"There are several things I would like to do right now, but one will have to wait until we get back to our home. The others are that I need to use the necessary and I'm starving."

Cici helped Adam from the bed and then helped him get dressed in pants and shirt buttoning them up for him because he found it was difficult. Then he was going to go look for some old boots to wear until he could get home and use a pair of his. Undergarments weren't that important but he needed a clean pair of socks too. He opened the guest bedroom door to find the items he needed sitting on the floor just outside the room. It looked like a pair of his father's boots. He managed to pull them on even with bandaged and swollen hands, and then hurried outside to the necessary as Cici dressed and did her morning preparations. It took quite a long time before Adam returned and he sheepishly admitted that the buttons were still an issue but that he had managed. When Cici emerged from the guest room, there were plates with food and cups of coffee on the table for them. Hop Sing was a wonder. Cici quickly unwrapped the bandages from his hands and rewrapped them with clean strips. Adam began eating like he hadn't eaten in a week, which wasn't too far from the truth. Hop Sing came in with another plate and like the first, the food was already cut into bite-sized portions for him so that all he had to use was a fork. Hop Sing had a big smile to see his food being so appreciated.

"Hop Sing you are a treasure. This family could not survive without you. Thank you."

Hop Sing nodded again keeping that big grin on his face. Number one son always did appreciate him, and Hop Sing had a special place in his heart for this one. Miss Cici was a wonder too. For such a tiny thing, she was eating almost as much as her husband it seemed. When she shared their good news with him, he understood and went to get her a big glass of milk. By the time the rest of the family came trudging down the steps, Adam and Cici were savoring cups of coffee. Ben was first to the table but was of course followed soon after by Hoss. The noises upstairs indicated that Joe was awake, but often it took him a while to get going in the morning. Hop Sing was in his glory with two more hungry men to feed. If that young one took too long, there wouldn't be any more hot food left.

"Hey older brother, you gonna shave or keep that shaggy bear look?"

"My hands are a little stiff for that. Handling a fork isn't too bad, but a sharp razor could be more of hazard to my health. Cici will help me, and she wants to do some stuff to my hands and the other scrapes I have too. If I didn't do it yesterday, I want to thank both of you for believing in me and finding me."

"Son, you did thank us yesterday. You were pretty worn out so it's not a surprise you don't remember. If you would find it easier to shave here in the washroom with the tub, you could. You could use my razor."

Adam looked at Cici and she nodded. It would be easier to draw a bath for Adam here, and Hop Sing could help her too.

"Cici has told me about the timber camps. I need the ledgers and records from there, and I'll need to see the records from our lumber mill and receipts from our customers to know just how far behind we must be on our contracts. I can't handle a horse with these hands so is there someone who could drive me there or bring all those items here?"

Hoss looked up from his meal and said he could go get the records and such that morning and have them by that night probably.

"How much trouble do you think we're in?"

"Hoss, this theft has probably gone on for a long time and the Ponderosa managed to meet contracts anyway. I think that possibly it won't be too bad. The contract offers were based on what was actually being delivered not on what was cut. I'm hoping we have enough time to make up the difference. We'll need to hire more men or shift most of the lumber mill workers to the timber operation. I'm going to need some help to get this all straightened out."

"Adam, while Hoss heads to the timber camps, I'll go into town and see about hiring some men. It's a down time for the miners with two mines shutting down in the last few months so there should be enough men to get a crew together. They will likely be inexperienced though."

"Pa, we can pair up every new man with an experienced logger to show them the ropes. It's hard work, but not that tough to do if someone is right there telling you what you need to do and when except for the toppers and a few other jobs. Can we offer a bonus to the men who take charge of the new workers?"

Ben agreed that was a good idea, and suggested Adam might consider offering bonuses to everyone if the contracts were met. That should be an incentive to hard work too and Adam agreed he would add that into his calculations. Now they had the beginning of a plan, and Joe finally made an appearance. Adam filled him in because Ben and Hoss were leaving. That also meant Joe was the only one left to do all the barn chores so he started the day a little grumpy.

"Joe, thank you for believing in me and tracking the imposter down. I heard the story from Hoss that was kind of a funny story. Now what was that the barmaid said that made you sure I wasn't there?"

Joe appreciated the thank you, but glanced at Cici wondering if he should tell that barmaid story in front of her, but she and Adam laughed. Hoss had already told the whole story.

"Pa's idea to have us each take charge of part of the Ponderosa businesses seems like it was the right thing to do. With all of us overseeing the timber operations along with everything else, none of us took the time to really look into how things were going up there. The contracts were met so we trusted the foreman which turned out not to be a good idea. I'm sorry our lack of attention got you in such a mess."

"It's not your fault, Joe. Anyone can hire men who are greedy. They hid it well, exceptionally well."

A knock on the door announced that Roy had arrived. He had questioned the loggers and had a pretty good idea of who did what. Now he needed Adam's statement. He had already seen Ben on the way to Virginia City and found out what he knew. Most of the cases were going to be easy to handle. They admitted their complicity and were willing to take their punishment. Roy thought the ringleaders, especially that Dick Chesky, needed to be locked away for a long time so Roy was building a strong case against them. Bobby had been apprehended at the timber camp by the loggers who had been working honestly and he had been delivered to town. Roy asked Adam if he wanted his boots back and Adam declined. After Roy left, Adam got cleaned up, had his hands bandaged again, and was shaved by Cici. Hop Sing provided more of his ointments for the scrapes.

Later as Cici and Adam pulled the carriage into the yard of their home, Adam was amazed at the progress on the house that had been made in a week. It looked almost like it was ready to move in to although he knew on the inside the walls were just framed in and the floors weren't finished. The outside was already impressive though and that long veranda was a beautiful sight. They stabled Sport, but Cici needed to go to her office so the horses were left hitched to the carriage. She hadn't been to her office for much of the past week and she guessed that her patients would be wondering if she still intended to practice. She planned to have regular office hours for the rest of the week.

On the building crew, there were two extra men that Ben had sent over with Cici's blessing. They were there to work but also watch over the house and stable. If Adam was agreeable, they would spend each night bunking in the tack room of the stable. One, Matt Kirk was potentially a good foreman, but with Candy firmly established in that job on the Ponderosa, Ben was hoping Adam could find a supervisory position for him. Bright and talented, Matt was about Adam's age and had worked cattle ranches, farming, mining, and lumbering. Matt had wandered most of his life but seemed ready to settle down. Adam ended up sleeping after Cici left until Hoss arrived with ledgers, records, and receipts. It was a lot of paperwork.

"Hey, Adam, maybe Matt could help you with this and then drive ya to the timber camps or lumber mill if ya need to go. He's right handy with numbers and stuff."

"Matt?"

"Oops, sorry, I thought Pa or Cici would have already told ya. Pa sent a couple of men over here to work with your building crew and kinda oversee things while you were missing. He wanted to make sure there was someone keeping an eye on Cici when she wasn't with us. There was so much to tell you, I guess they forgot that part."

Adam at first was a little angry but quickly got over it. It sounded like they were just looking out for his wife in his absence, which was good. As for having Matt help him, well he could use some help so maybe he ought to meet this man. He asked Hoss to go with him to the house construction so he could meet Matt and it also gave them a chance to take a close look at the construction so far. Hoss thought it was a great idea. After Hoss introduced Matt to Adam, Matt asked if he could show a few things to Adam to get his opinion. The space the crew had allowed to retract pocket doors to the study didn't seem wide enough to Matt, and he thought the window framing did not have strong enough headers put in. Adam looked over both and agreed with Matt. He asked the building crew foreman to make some changes.

"Can you read blueprints or were you just observant?"

"I can read the basics on a blueprint. My father was an architect and builder in St. Louis. He died before I was an adult so I lost touch with that, but working with him until then, I learned a lot. I have done some construction work in the past but mostly in shoring up mines."

"Are you familiar with the Diedesheimer method of shoring?"

"Yes, I am and what a great idea that is. Sad that a lot of mine owners put the expense of that system ahead of the safety of their workers. In the long run, wouldn't a cave in be more expensive to clean up than to just shore the mine up properly to begin with?"

Hoss was proud that Adam played a role in that development. "Adam here had a lot to do with getting that design in the mines here."

Adam and Matt were sizing each other up and finding a lot to like in the other. Hoss was pleased. He had been afraid they might be too much alike to work together.

"I could use some help with the records from the timber camps and the lumber mill. At the moment, I can't ride well so for a few days, I need someone to drive me there and back as well. At some point I need to inspect the mines we own and another hand with that would be good. Would you be willing to give that job a try? When you aren't working on those things, I'd like you to keep an eye on the building here."

"I'd like that. I get bored easily so having a few irons in the fire suits me well. Who's paying my salary?"

"You're still a Ponderosa hand, but there would be extra money in it with the extra responsibilities. We'll need to find you a place to stay here too."

"Oh your pa and your wife told me to bunk in the tack room, and I've been there most of the week. Jed's been here too helping out but now that you're back, I think he would just as soon get back to working cattle."

"All right, tack room for now. If this works out, the house we're living in now will be available once we move up here."

"I haven't had a house to live in since I left home when I was sixteen. My pa died, and ma was already gone so there was no reason to stay. This is looking better and better to me."

Matt let the building crew foreman know that he and Jed were leaving, but that he would be back on occasion at Adam's direction. Adam nodded to the foreman that indeed that was the situation now. Hoss was smiling because he knew that Pa and Cici were going to be tickled pink to know how well this had worked out.

It took several weeks for the mess at the timber camps to get straightened out. It had taken some of the Ponderosa's cash on hand to get enough men working and then bonuses had to be paid as well. Adam assured his family that he had enough cash in his personal accounts that the ranch would not need a bank loan if cash on hand got too low. Once the contract dates were met though there was plenty of cash to pay expenses with enough left to send Hoss on his first cattle-buying trip. Because of the money they had spent to get quality bulls, Hoss was intent on buying cows. With both bulls and cows of high quality, he expected to be able to improve the stock at a faster rate. He had the men working on some fencing near the main house because these cattle would not be running with the regular herds for at least a few years until they had a much larger number of quality stock.

Once the timber/lumber system was working well, Adam, with Matt's assistance, began to do mine inspections. They checked the two mines the Cartwrights owned outright as well as several in which one or more of them had invested. By the time they were done, the news was all bad as far as Ben was concerned. He had hired a mining engineer to work for them and oversee the mining operations ever since Adam had left ten years previously. One of Adam's first acts had been to fire the man. Records were in a shambles but most importantly, the shoring in the mines they owned was substandard and had reached a dangerous state in some of the tunnels. The mines in which they had tied up money by investing were not much better, but without a majority share, they could do little about them so Adam advised selling out any shares held in them. He also wanted to close the mines over the winter to work on shoring them up. Temporarily with no timber ready to go, he closed down the tunnels he felt were most unsafe. As a result, income from those mines dropped precipitously creating another cash flow problem. Ben was on edge because of it and the rest of the family waited for the argument that was set to blow between Ben and Adam.

Adam and Cici postponed their honeymoon to San Francisco because of the uproar. They had intended to buy some furniture while there but now were afraid to tap into Adam's cash accounts too much in case the Ponderosa needed to borrow those funds. Cici had two mothers expecting to deliver soon so didn't feel too bad about the postponement at first, but she knew that by October, she did want to get away with Adam. If they waited too long, the weather would be bad, and by spring, she would be too big with her pregnancy to enjoy a trip nor would it be safe for her to travel. They both wanted to have some new furniture in the new house when they moved in so it felt more like their home. Cici worried too about a confrontation between Adam and Ben. Both men were proud and stubborn, but Ben had given up some authority over the Ponderosa and was chafing a bit because his sons weren't doing things the way he would have done them. Even though Adam had done nothing wrong, it was his responsibilities on the Ponderosa that were causing all the problems at that time. Irrational or not, Ben was seething at that. Hoss and Joe were very worried that Ben could do something to make Adam leave again.

Only rarely did Adam show up at the main house any more during the week as it was just more convenient to go directly to the timber camps, lumber mill, or mines directly from his house. To go to the main house would only make his days longer. Ben however seemed to think that Adam was avoiding him and added that to the list of grievances he had. That one was no more rational than the others, but as Adam had told Cici, when Ben was angry, rational thought was very difficult for him. Joe was helping Hoss with the fall round-up and would go with him on the cattle drive. Adam wasn't going because concerns with the mines were keeping him working from sunrise to sunset as it was, but again Ben was upset that he would not help his younger brothers. As it turned out, the blow-up happened with Hoss not Adam.

At dinner the night before the drive was to begin, Ben was again making disparaging remarks about Adam's mining projects bleeding the Ponderosa accounts dry. Hoss finally couldn't take it any more when Ben made a remark about the cattle drive.

"At least I have two responsible sons who will handle the cattle drive and put money into our accounts instead of draining it out."

"Pa, I have had just about enough of this. I ain't planning on coming home from this cattle drive to find you drove my brother away again. Adam is responsible. He's like the meaning of that word, responsible. He takes responsibility for things that ain't even his fault and drives us crazy when he does that. He's done nothing except work himself as hard as he can to fix one mess after another. You're doing what ya done in the past. Ya said ya was gonna change, but ya ain't. First sign of real troubles, and you start acting the same old way. Well, it ain't setting right with me at all."

"But who's paying for it?"

"We are! All of us! Adam postponed his honeymoon to make sure things got done right. He ain't ordered the stuff he wants for his house in case we need to borrow the cash he has on hand. All I hear from you is complaints, and it's gotta stop right now."

"You need to watch your tone with me young man."

"That's right! I am a man. And I have every right to tell you what I think, and if you don't like it well that's too bad. I got a right to my opinions just like anybody else. And I don't gotta watch my tone with you neither."

"Well maybe if you're so unhappy with me, you can just go live on your own like your brother!"

"Is that what's sticking in your craw. You had this problem, and you apologized for it, but now come to find out, you didn't mean it in your heart. Damn it, Pa, he's a man, and he's got a wife and every right to live his own life. I ain't saying nothing you don't know already. What I don't understand is why you gotta be so negative about what he's doing. He worked with swollen fingers and bandaged hands to get a plan together for the timber camps and lumber mill so we could meet our contracts, and it worked."

"We helped him. He didn't do it by himself."

"Of course ,we did cause he wasn't too proud to ask when he needed help. We always work together. I thought you said we were all still gonna help each other on big projects? But it was Adam's plan. We saved our business reputation with it. From here to Reno and all through the Washoe, every man knows if he makes a contract for our timber, we'll meet it no matter what. Every man jack out there knows what Adam went through to get that job done."

"Pa, Hoss is right. With the timber and the mines, if we had paid more attention, we wouldn't be having these issues right now. I know it's expensive, but ten years of not investing enough money and time back into those mines caught up to us. How would you feel if some men got killed because one of those tunnels collapsed? Matt's been working with Adam, and from what I've heard from him, he's been scared just to do some of the inspections with Adam."

Hoss had a sudden intuition. His father felt useless. Doing the ledgers and attending meetings might be making him feel like a figurehead instead of a valuable asset. Meanwhile Adam was getting a lot of attention and many were going directly to him for decisions that Ben used to make. He might be a tad bit jealous too.

"Pa, maybe for now you could take over the timber and lumber operations from Adam so he could concentrate on the mine problems. If he didn't have to go up there two or three times a week maybe he could make some faster progress with the mines."

Joe saw where Hoss was going with this and had an idea of his own.

"Pa, while I'm gone, who's gonna supervise the relocation and rebuilding of the mill? We made those plans over three years ago, and it really needs to get done. The mill is only operating at a fraction of its capacity because there isn't enough water to push the wheel unless we hold off for a while and let the pond fill."

"Well I can't do all of that. With paperwork and all, I don't have enough time for all of it."

"Maybe Matt could help with the timber and lumber? He's been helping Adam for quite a while now so he could handle a lot of the stuff as long as he had someone telling him what needed to be done. He could still help Adam with the mines on the other days."

Suddenly Ben started talking with them about how he could get things done with the mill, and how he could help Adam with the timber and lumber operations until the mines were pulled up to proper safety standards. A major crisis had been averted. Hoss intended to find some time in the early morning to let Adam know what was going on before their Pa saw him. He knew Adam was chafing under the criticisms Ben regularly sent his way so he might react badly if their Pa just sprung this on him. Hoss wasn't certain either that Ben really had understood his own feelings. After some time to reflect on everything, it would come to him. Then he would go to apologize to Adam. For now though, this felt like the right solution.

 

Chapter 5

The next morning Hoss rode out very early to Adam's house. Ben saw him leaving and assumed he was going to talk to Adam. For much of the night, Ben had been thinking. He was ashamed that he had been acting like a spoiled child who had his toys taken away. He would ride out to the drive this morning and make amends to his two younger sons. He would need to think for a time on what he could do for Adam. A simple 'I'm sorry' wasn't good enough so he was thinking of what else he could do but had not had a good idea yet. It had to be soon though so Adam would know he meant it with all of his heart. Meanwhile he needed a good breakfast because he had work to do today.

As Hoss approached Adam's house, he was relieved to see smoke coming from the stovepipe. Someone was working in the kitchen so he wouldn't be interrupting too much. He knocked on the door and Adam answered almost immediately so he had heard Hoss approaching. Adam was shirtless and carrying a towel so Hoss assumed he had been shaving. When he heard Cici call hello from the kitchen it confirmed that so he relaxed.

"Hoss, this early, it has to be very good news or very bad."

"Good. I think."

Hoss then recounted the conversation he and Joe had with their Pa the night before and added what he though had been behind it all.

"Hoss, you are the most perceptive man I know. That all makes sense to me the way you tell it. I hope it's true because you're right; Pa and I were headed to a showdown. Does Pa know you came to tell me?"

"Well he probably heard me ride out so he may have guessed but I didn't tell him. I'm heading out to the drive now. I'll see you in about two weeks or so. Don't do nothing crazy now."

"I won't. Thank you."

Hoss left and Cici looked at Adam with a questioning look. He knew she wanted to ask about what he thought. Adam wrapped his arms around her and Cici pressed her hands on his chest and caressed him tenderly.

"Pa and I have always had this contentious relationship. I don't know why. It seems we can never work things out unless there's some tension or an argument. Seems to be the only way he ever tries to look at it my way."

"Could it be because he resists change, and you love to try new things?"

"I could think of a few new things I'd like to try right now."

"Adam, could you hold that thought about nine hours. I think I'll be ready to try some of your ideas then. Right now, breakfast is ready and I have patients who will be waiting for me."

But she made no move to move away and continued to move her hands over Adam's chest. He leaned down to kiss her and she wrapped her arms around his neck. They kissed and caressed and soon breakfast was ruined. Once they emerged from the bedroom, Cici took the ruined breakfast and set it on the counter.

"I think that's the third time this week that's happened. How about if we just do the loving as soon as we wake up in the morning?"

"The spontaneity is half the fun."

"I'm not sure it's spontaneity if it happens every morning."

They both started laughing and had a hard time stopping. As a doctor, Cici did know that because of pregnancy, women could be more amorous but she was surprised by how much. Adam wasn't complaining at all though. Cici grabbed her bag and followed Adam who was heading to the stable to harness the horses to the carriage. For the day, she would be at her office and he would be heading to the mines to do more inspection and make plans for new shoring. She urged him to be careful as she kissed him goodbye. Matt joined Adam and they rode to Bonanza mine one to see the progress on the safety upgrades. Some tunnels were having new shoring installed and they wanted to check the progress of that. Then they would proceed to Bonanza mine two where Adam had closed tunnel three already. The shoring in tunnels four and five was much newer so today they would make a decision on whether to keep working in those tunnels. Blasting in two was suspended until all inspections were completed so the men were back to basic hard rock mining in tunnels one and two only and didn't like it at all.

Ben had ridden to the drive to apologize for his behavior to Hoss and Joe and wish them well on the drive. Then he had gone to town to have his broker sell his shares in mines Adam said were unsafe and put the money he got into the Ponderosa account. This would give them more money to pay for timber to shore up the mines they owned and to pay the miners for the work. Once that was done, he rode to mine two because he thought that was where Adam was working that day, but he had not arrived by the time Ben got there. One of the miners came up to Ben and said that Adam had closed tunnel three but the shoring looked pretty good in there so they wondered if he had made a mistake. Ben accompanied a group of miners to look in tunnel three and agreed that the shoring looked safe so he gave them the go ahead to continue to work in that tunnel. One of the miners asked if they could blast and Ben said of course because how else could they get the ore out. He had no idea that Adam had suspended blasting in this mine. After waiting a bit longer, Ben mounted up to ride to mine one to see if Adam was there. Adam had detoured back to his house to pick up some maps and other paper work that he had forgotten to take with him so Ben did not see him on the way.

Once Adam and Matt reached mine two, they headed into the mine to inspect tunnels four and five. They planned to take some samples from the shoring to see if there was dry rot like there was in tunnel three where the wood looked good but could be smashed with a shovel in some places they had found. As they walked to tunnel four, Adam suddenly stopped because it suddenly dawned on him that he hadn't seen wire in the mine the day before. He asked Matt if he had seen any wire heading into tunnel three when they had been there the day before. Matt never had a chance to answer as a blast shook the mine; dust poured out of tunnel three and then it and tunnel four collapsed. Miners raced out of tunnels one and two to the outside. There they saw Adam's and Matt's horses and knew those two men were in the mine. They waited hoping that they would come running out but there was no one else.

In the mine, near tunnel four, the air was dust-filled. Adam coughed and coughed. It was very dark. His right foot was trapped under a large boulder but didn't seem to be damaged much. He called a number of times for Matt and got no response. He repeated the call at intervals as he moved small rocks and debris away from the larger rock pinning his foot by pressing against his ankle. He finally heard a weak and wheezing reply to his call. Matt was apparently trapped as well but his voice sounded very weak and he was wheezing noticeably. He also seemed confused so Adam asked him if his head was hurt and Matt said he didn't know which answered the question anyway. It remained very dark so Adam concluded that the tunnel was blocked completely and explained too why the air was getting stale. Mattwas seriously injured. It was cold and they had no food and water. When Matt asked him how things looked for them, he was honest.

"Well, so you think it looks a little bad for us right now. It could be worse."

"How?"

"We could be dead. I do try to look on the bright side of things."

Matt couldn't help it and started chuckling even if weakly. Adam did too but it turned into coughing very soon with the dust he had ingested earlier and the lack of clean air. He found a small rock and pounded a short series of hard taps on the rock wall nearest him. If anyone could hear, they would know the two men were alive. He had no illusions though. The chances of rescue were slim. About every five minutes, he repeated the taps and hoped someone could hear them. When he tried to talk with Matt, there was only silence. He thought he could hear him breathing but it was so soft it could have been wishful thinking too. He continued to work at the rocks that pinned him where he was hoping to get free and go to Matt and perhaps assess the wall of rock that blocked their exit too.

The siren had been sounded at mine two when the tunnel collapsed, and miners from mine one headed there to help bringing all the tools and equipment they could easily carry. Ben rode with them. Adam's prediction had come true, and Ben only hoped that no one had been killed. When he saw Sport tied up at the mine office, but didn't see Adam anywhere, his heart sank. When he found the courage to ask, he found that the only two missing men were his son and Matt.

The sirens could be heard in Virginia City, and Cici had a premonition. She had already seen her scheduled patients for the day and decided not to wait to see if anyone dropped in. She closed the office and went to the livery stable to get her carriage. She brought her bag and additional medical supplies with her. There was a procession of wagons and carriages headed to the mine which she joined. When she reached the mine, she saw Ben, but did not see Adam. She climbed out of the carriage and ran to where Ben was standing. As Ben heard Cici call his name, he turned toward her, and she knew from the expression on his face that Adam was in that mine. She collapsed in tears. Ben knelt at her side to console her.

"They're forming teams of men right now to start digging out the debris. They've done this before and know what they're doing. Adam is alive. I know he is. We have to believe that."

"He was right about these mines, and now he's trapped in there. He's probably hurt and no one can help him."

Ben helped Cici to a chair outside the mine office and then went to find the men who were in charge of the rescue. When he found them, he was shaken to his core by what he found out.

"I'm sorry Mr. Cartwright. We had no idea that tunnel three was that bad. Mr. Adam did, I guess, and that's why he told us not to blast in the mine. We were sure he was overreacting so that's why we asked you if we could. If we could take that all back now, we would. But we promise we'll do everything we can to get your son out of there."

Suddenly Ben realized that he was the one who had caused the mine collapse that had trapped his son. He had usurped Adam's authority without a thought. He should have told the men to wait for Adam and ask him. His own damn pride and confidence had led him to make a reckless decision that had placed his son's very life in jeopardy. Adam would have every right never to forgive him, and now he prayed that Adam would at least have an opportunity to do just that. Ben picked up a shovel and headed into the mine to help.

Over the next twenty-four hours, the men worked in shifts to clear away debris. Often they thought they heard tapping, but it never continued long enough for them to be sure. Once they stopped working because someone thought there was tapping, it would already have stopped. They kept going though hoping that there would be a way to get through the debris and find the tunnel open on the other side. Finally they came to a section where the debris did not reach to the ceiling. There was an opening at the top. One of the men crawled up there and yelled through. After a minute, they heard a weak call from the other side. There still wasn't room to send a man through but they began working at the top of the pile trying to make a space large enough to send a man through to the other side. Ben went out to tell Cici who had been staying in the mine office. She was somewhat relieved but also treated Ben rather coldly. He suspected she had found out from the miners exactly how this cave in occurred and was justifiably very angry with him.

Behind the pile of debris, Adam tried to call out to Matt that there was an imminent rescue, but he was so dry and had breathed so much dust, he couldn't manage. He had not heard a word from Matt since shortly after the cave-in and feared for his friend's life. Until recently he still thought he could hear the wheezy breathing, but with the clatter now from the rescue diggers, he couldn't hear him at all. It took less than an hour to open a space big enough for the smallest miner to wiggle through with water, candles, and bandages. The fresh air from the opening was the most welcome.

Shorty, of course the little miner's name was Shorty, quickly found Adam and gave him a canteen of water to drink. He told him to take it slowly so he wouldn't retch it all back up. Adam told him the direction where he thought Matt could be found. Soon there were several candles lit in that vicinity and Shorty appeared to be very busy.

"Is he all right?"

"He's alive."

Shorty climbed back up the pile of debris to tell the rescuers that both men were alive and described their condition. He asked for a long sturdy pole to use as a lever so he could move debris and free the two. Shorty and Adam could hear someone crawling through the tight space at the top and were shocked to see it was Cici. She had her bag with her and pulled a long pole behind her. She also had a lantern, which she handed to Shorty. Once he lit that, the cavern was much brighter. She looked for Adam and then rushed to his side and began checking his injuries. Shorty got the pole and using a rock for a fulcrum, levered the rock that had held Adam's foot. Cici did a quick check and said it did not appear to be broken but it was badly bruised and swollen.

"Go to Matt. I think he needs you."

As Cici hurried to where Shorty knelt beside Matt, Adam limped over to there too. Shorty climbed back up the rock pile to ask them to send in more water and another lantern. One look told him that Cici was going to have to do some work on Matt before he could be moved. Shorty had used his pole and worked to remove the debris over Adam's left leg and left shoulder. Cici cleaned his head wound as well as the blood from his face. That blood apparently came from the head wound that had stopped bleeding long ago. Matt's shoulder was bruised badly but didn't appear to be seriously damaged. His leg was broken but there was no displacement. Cici then went to open his shirt. She was afraid of what she would find but let out an involuntary gasp anyway. There was a very large dark purple bruise along his right side. As she palpated the area, she concluded he was bleeding from a hemorrhage because of a broken rib, and he needed surgery immediately. Cici gave Shorty a list of items she would need, and he climbed up the debris pile to relay her message out.

Water, lanterns, soap, a metal bowl, sheets, splints, and bandages were relayed into the mine and through the opening to the inside. Cici began washing the area of the bruise and beyond. Then with Shorty's help, she got the sheet under Matt. Once that was done, she thoroughly washed her hands and the instruments she would use. Then she prayed that the surgery could be quick and simple even though it was critical. Shorty held Matt's left arm securely and Adam braced himself against Matt's hip to help hold him steady. There was no anesthesia so they had to physically prevent him from moving. He was unconscious so probably felt little or no pain. Once the surgery was underway, there was a lot of bleeding but after the broken part of the rib was removed and the wound was stitched up, the bleeding was minimal. After washing the outside of the wound with a carbolic acid solution, Cici applied a heavy bandage. With Shorty's help, she wound bandages around Matt to hold the thick pad in place over the stitches. Then she cut away Matt's pant leg and splinted his leg. Through all of this, he made no sound nor moved. That was ominous. Cici could find no evidence of a skull fracture but knew it was possible. That he had at least a severe concussion was obvious.

The debris was being removed at a good pace now from the top down and more men were able to come through the opening and started working on the pile from the inside as well. Cici asked them to move Matt out by stretcher as soon as possible because he needed more medical care and she needed more light to properly evaluate his injuries. In less than an hour, Matt was transferred to a stretcher and moved out of the tunnel. Cici followed him out. Shorty helped Adam out later as more debris was removed.

Outside, Doctor Martin had set up a surgical tent with an exam table and a bed inside. Everything was clean and waiting for a patient. There was hot water. Matt was transferred into the tent and then the two doctors worked together to care for him. Ben waited anxiously outside as did Adam and most of the miners. About two hours later, Doctor Martin emerged to say that Matt would live. He had a concussion but not a skull fracture, a broken leg, and had most of one rib removed. The other injuries were superficial although painful. He had been in shock. As they warmed him up with hot water compresses and got some fluid into him, he began to groggily respond to their questions but complained of a severe headache. Dr. Martin asked the cook to make some broth and bring it to them as quickly as possible. He suggested they ought to give a bowl of it to Adam as well who was sitting nearby wrapped in a blanket.

"Can he be moved?"

"Ben, he's going to stay right here for the time being. We have all that we need and moving him at this time would be an unnecessary risk."

"Can I see him?"

"Ben, I think you know the answer to that question already. Trust us. We will take good care of him. Maybe after we get the broth in him. We'll see how he's doing by then."

Cici was the next person that Ben saw. She looked exhausted and Ben suggested she should get some sleep. Her reply was polite but not warm, so Ben bit the bullet.

"Cici, this is all my fault. I did a stupid and reckless thing and almost got my son killed. But I didn't mean to do any of it. I was asked and answered a question as if I was still in charge here and I wasn't. I should have told them to wait for Adam. Old habits die hard. I don't know what I can do to make it up to you and to Adam. I came up here to tell him I put extra money in the accounts so he could do more of what he needed to do here, and then I messed things up horribly."

"Then you need to tell him that. It has been so hard for him the last month trying to do the right thing and having to endure your displeasure the whole time. You need to give your trust to him without reservation. He is not taking your place. He wants to work beside you and be treated with respect. It isn't too much to ask. Now I need to clean up, grab some breakfast, and get back in there to see if I can sleep a little. Matt is awake but in a lot of pain. If you talk to him, don't ask questions. Say what you need to say to let him know how sorry you are and then let him rest. He doesn't know why that tunnel collapsed. If you tell him, he is going to be upset so the next thing you say better be a thorough apology or I'll kick you right out of that tent. Then get my husband home so he can get some rest."

And so it went. Adam was upset with Ben's explanation of what he had done, but Ben's abject demeanor and sincere apology went a long way to resolving Adam's anger. Ben asked if he could please give Adam a ride to his house or to the main house so he could get some rest. Adam nodded yes, but wanted to say goodbye to his wife first. Ben went to the tent to ask her if she would do that. She did, and then went back to the tent, Cici laid back on the cot next to Matt, and closed her eyes. Getting these Cartwright men to work through change was a daunting and exhausting experience.

 

Chapter 6

The next day, Matt was moved to Adam's home. Ben had said he could go to the main house where Hop Sing could help, but Adam didn't want to do that. Adam who was limping just a little offered to help Cici with Matt as needed. Ben had to swallow down his argument, but he did as Cici nodded her encouragement to him. He was learning. His sons would not always do things the way their father would have but that didn't make them wrong just different. Ben was learning how to respect the differences. In fact once at Adam's house, Ben could see how convenient the smaller home would be with the bedroom, kitchen, and washroom all in close proximity, and he did have the good grace to say that to Adam to reinforce that his son did make a good decision. Then he took his leave to get back to the Ponderosa and get some work done.

Before Ben left, he had asked Adam when he would have a plan in place for the mines. Ben would do as his son asked and follow his instructions until Adam was ready to do the job himself but that wasn't likely for several days at least. Adam was very tired from the ordeal and wasn't ready to start thinking about the mines yet, and Cici suggested that Ben come back the next morning to discuss this with Adam who gratefully nodded his agreement with that. After Ben left, Adam helped Cici get Matt into bed. Then Ada went to theie bedroom and sacked out too. By that evening, Adam wanted to get up and work at his desk on a plan for the mines but Cici put her foot down hard.

"You were in a mine collapse two days ago, you are recovering from aninjury, you were dehydrated, chilled, and in shock. You are staying in that bed except for anything necessary. Lean back on those pillows, mister, and I'll bring you something to eat."

Adam gave her one of those sardonic grins but with a lot of humor in his look.

"What?"

"I'm just getting my father trained, but my wife is now dictating my every move."

Cici clenched her fists at her side and glared at him.

"Come here, please? I was just teasing you. Can the patient please have some company? Maybe a bedside visit from the doctor?"

Cici walked to the bed and Adam slid a little to his left side so she could sit on his right. Once she did, he slid his right arm around her to coax her to lean against him. She relaxed into him and he sighed.

"You're right of course. My stomach is a little queasy yet. Could we just relax here for a bit? You must be tired too. God, I hurt all over. I think I'm feeling bruising now I didn't realize I had."

Cici got her own wicked little grin. She turned to Adam and he knew something was up with that look.

"Just tell me where it hurts, and I'll kiss it to make it better."

"Oh, sweetheart, don't do that to me. I'm suffering enough here without you teasing me like that."

"What if I'm not teasing."

"Then it's worse. The torment is going to kill me I'm sure."

Cici kissed him softly and got up from the bed.

"I'm going to get some broth and some tea. You do need to get something in you before you sleep tonight."

Cici got Adam to drink some of each. Then she checked Matt's bandages and splints. The leg swelling was greatly reduced. It was the fibula that was broken and not the tibia so he could be up and walking with a crutch in a few days and with a cane in just a few weeks. The stitches from the surgery were dry and the area although badly bruised showed no inflammation which she found remarkable under the circumstances. His concussion would keep him from riding for a week or more but he needed time to recover from his other injuries as well so that wasn't too much of a problem either. She knew he might be a terrible patient as many men were, but by tomorrow he could sit at his desk and work on the mine problems with Adam. Adam would be more relaxed about the mines now too as no one would question his decisions on the mines after this. At least for now, Ben would follow Adam's plan exactly: there were some benefits to him feeling so guilty. Ben was also probably a bit worried as to how Joe and especially Hoss would react to what he had done, and Cici took a little guilty pleasure in knowing that too. She actually hoped she might be around when they got back and Ben had to tell him how he had messed up, again.

The next few weeks passed uneventfully as life slowly got back to normal patterns. As Adam sat on the veranda of his new home discussing the finishing work with the foreman and Matt, Hoss and Joe rode up next to the small house down below. Adam yelled hello and waved and they walked up to the new house.

"Dadburnit, Adam, this house is looking purtier and purtier every time I see it. When's it gonna be done?"

"Within the month, I hope. Cici and I are leaving for San Francisco on Friday. We'll be buying some furnishings while enjoying our delayed honeymoon. We'll have everything shipped here and it should be here before we are. Matt knows where everything goes so he'll be in charge here while we're gone."

"So everything is good with the mines and the timber and lumber?"

Adam nodded affirmatively as did Matt. Joe looked meaningfully at Matt's cane and still splinted lower left leg.

"We heard what happened. Hoss really let Pa have it. After that talk before we left, we never thought he would do something like that."

"How did he react?"

"Just said 'I know and I'm sorry. I need to change my ways.' Shocked us that he didn't blow up the way Hoss was talking to him. Said he didn't mean to do what he did but just acted out of habit without thinking."

"You threw your two bits in too as I recall. Didn't matter. Pa sure feels bad about what he done. He looks plumb tuckered out too."

Adam chuckled. "I think he has a new appreciation for all we do. He had to take charge at the timber camps and run to the mines on most of the other days to make sure my plans were being followed. Then he got home and had to do the paperwork for everything too. Good thing you left Candy behind to run the ranch or I think he might have killed himself with all the work. He did start on the mill project but I don't think it got too far."

"But everything is good enough for you to be gone?"

"Good enough. I owe Cici a honeymoon, and I mean to give it to her before the baby is born. We'll be back by the end of the month to hopefully move into the house here."

"A month! What can you find to do for a month in San Francisco?"

Adam just arched his brows at Joe who started to giggle and then all the men had a very good laugh. Adam did remind them that the city had many fine theatres, restaurants, and bookstores. That led to a few more ribald comments and more laughter. They asked about Cici's medical practice once they got all the laughter out of the way. Adam explained that she and Paul were working together now, not as partners, but they consulted on patients and assisted each other in surgery and sent patients to each other when overworked. When working on Matt, they had found an ease of working with each other that surprised both the older doctor and the younger. Paul would cover Cici's practice for October and then she would do the same for him in November when he traveled to St. Louis for a conference. Both could relax more now about travel because each had a competent doctor to cover their practice when needed.

On Friday morning. Cici removed the splints from Matt's leg and left them off. At his questioning look, she explained that if he was careful and used his cane, he should be fine. It would also make working and driving the wagon more comfortable. Matt gave them a ride into town where they were surprised to see Ben, Joe, and Hoss with Barbara on his arm to give them a sendoff. Adam smiled at Barbara, and she blushed. Hoss talked briefly to Adam as Matt moved their trunks from the carriage to the stage.

"Adam, you don't mind if I'm going to be seeing Miss Barbara, now do ya?"

"Hoss, not at all. She and I were friends. I'm very happily married and glad you found someone so nice to spend time with. I was just teasing a little with that look."

"Well, Cici saw it so you better be ready to deal with that too."

Hoss slapped him on the back, and Adam looked over to Cici, but she looked perfectly normal to him. He hoped she wasn't upset with him. It wouldn't be a good way to start their honeymoon. Cici turned and looked at him, winked, and nodded at Hoss and Barbara. All was well. Adam and Cici kissed and hugged their well-wishers and then climbed aboard the stage. They were the only two passengers that morning so Adam was able to stretch out his legs and get comfortable.

As the stage passed the city limits, Adam pulled Cici into an embrace and started kissing her passionately. She enthusiastically participated until he started to unbutton her dress.

"Adam, not on the stage. We can't do anything on the stage."

"Well not too much, but a little kissing and touching should be all right. We'll be at the first station in less than a half hour so that's all I'm asking."

"You're insatiable. Is the whole honeymoon going to be this way?"

"Oh, I certainly hope so, I very much hope so. I have a room reserved in Placerville for tonight, one in Sacramento the following night, then we'll be on the steamer the night after that, and San Francisco for three weeks."

Once in Placerville, Cici found just how romantic her husband could be. There was champagne cooling in ice, roses, chocolates, and dinner brought up to their room soon after they arrived. The dinner was cold before they got to it, and she had never known how romantically champagne and chocolate could be used. Her husband certainly had a vivid imagination.

In Sacramento, the room had similar embellishments but also included a large tub. As soon as they entered the room it seemed, there was a knock on the door and maids entered carrying buckets of steaming water. Dinner was served much later so they had a chance to eat while it was still hot. The next morning, they got to arise leisurely because the steamer did not leave until ten. As it was, they were almost late because they got a little carried away with the morning's activities before they finally realized the time, packed, checked out, and raced to the dock.

By the time Adam and Cici arrived in San Francisco, she was looking forward to the next adventures he had planned. She was not going to be disappointed. There were friends to visit, museums to see, and theatres providing entertainment on many nights. During the days, there were carriage rides, and visits to bookstores, chocolate shops, and charming little restaurants. Friends of Adam recommended shops where they went to purchase items for their new home including everything they would need for a nursery. Adam insisted that Cici visit some dress shops and have some dresses made to fit her now and for the ensuing months. The last night, she dressed in an emerald satin gown. They had reservations for a fine restaurant and tickets for the latest theatre production that night. Just before they were going to leave, there was a knock on the door. One of the men from the desk downstairs brought a delivery to them. Adam thanked him and turned to hand a long narrow box to Cici. She opened it to find a diamond and emerald three-strand necklace. Adam helped her fasten it. She was speechless. It was the most gorgeous gift she had ever received. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the love she possessed.

"We could skip the restaurant and theatre and stay here."

"Oh no, I am going to go out and show this off. I may not have a chance to wear this at home for quite a while."

After dinner and the theatre, Cici expected to return to the hotel, but Adam directed the carriage in another direction. They came to a street that seemed to be filled with carriages. Once at the center of the melee, their carriage stopped and Adam escorted her into a fall ball. They danced and danced until midnight. The next morning as they left the hotel, Cici was exhausted, but she had had the most romantic and exciting honeymoon she could imagine anyone had ever had. She couldn't wait to get home to tell Barbara all about it. The trip home was more mundane as both were anxious now to see family and friends. When they arrived in Virginia City, their carriage awaited them. Matt helped them with their trunks and then rode ahead to the house. Once Adam and Cici arrived, she expected to drive to the small house they had been using, but Adam pulled up the drive to the new house.

"Oh, Adam, I don't think I want to live out of boxes and trunks tonight. Can't we spend just one night in the little house?"

Adam said nothing, but when Cici climbed out of the carriage, he took her elbow and guided her up the steps. He swung the front door open and then picked her up and carried her in. There were no boxes or crates and furniture was placed in a nice arrangement in the parlor. Her curiosity aroused, she moved from room to room on the first floor finding that everything they had shipped was unpacked and put away or placed where they had planned. Finally she had to ask.

"How did you do this?"

"Matt has earned himself a nice bonus. I left a plan with him and asked him to uncrate and unbox everything and put it where we wanted. He moved the items from the little house that we would need too."

Cici hugged and kissed her husband. A new chapter was beginning and it couldn't have looked better to her.

 

Chapter 7

On Thanksgiving morning, Adam walked up behind Cici as she was making bacon and eggs at the stove for their breakfast and ran his hands over her baby bump as he kissed her on the neck.

"I bet that Hop Sing never has to deal with distractions like this when he is cooking."

"That's a shame. He might like a woman kissing him and holding him as he worked. You never know what might start cooking."

Cici groaned at his comment. Adam had been in a playful mood ever since the honeymoon. With winter approaching, his responsibilities on the Ponderosa were rapidly diminishing. Over the winter, he had some projects to design and an indoor upstairs necessary to build at the main house on the Ponderosa. Because of the location of the house, it was more difficult to engineer a system to get water to that space but much easier to create a system to dispose of waste. That was the opposite of their own house on the hill where it had been easy to pipe water in to several locations in the house but more complex to drain it away after use. Adding on was always more difficult it seemed than adding something like that into the design elements of a new house. He thought he had the basics of the design done but needed to measure and be sure it would work as well as get final approval for the project from his father and brothers. The lumber and basic supplies were not much but there was a need to order an extra large tub to accommodate Hoss, a large water tank to hold a supply of water on the second floor, a stove for heating the water, lots of piping, and a pump. He had created an alternative plan to add on to the washroom that would be much cheaper but less private and certainly less convenient. Either option though would end those trips outside in cold and unpleasant weather.

Cici served bacon, eggs, bread with preserves, and coffee for breakfast and it was quite delicious. Adam appreciated how much she had learned from the few lessons she had from Hop Sing. Her repertoire of recipes was developing but most were still simple dishes and baked goods. Compared to what he could manage in the kitchen though, she was a great chef. He did have one question that he had been meaning to ask every morning as he saw her devour plates of fried food.

"I know that I am not knowledgeable about a woman being with child, and I don't want to wish anything bad for you, but aren't you supposed to be sick in the morning? I do remember when Marie was carrying Joe, and she changed to various shades of green and yellow whenever food like this was served. Then she would run outside and Pa would follow. I always had to hang on to Hoss because he thought it was a game they were playing."

"Aww, that's a cute story. Not everyone gets sick in the morning or with food but some have it all day. I am one of the lucky ones. I remember Mama saying that about herself and her times so I guess I got it from her. On a related topic, have you been thinking about the names I suggested?"

"Yes, the more I thought about them, the more I liked them: Victoria Michele for a girl and David Michael for a boy. They're strong names and won't get them teased as children. I like that there can be a diminutive version for when he or she is a baby: Davy or Vicki."

Cici smiled. It was just like Adam to think it through and see the long-term impact before making a decision. She just liked how the names sounded. More and more she had the feeling it was going to be a boy, but had no medical reason to say that as it was just a feeling.

"I think you will love holding Davy and showing him off to everyone."

"Maybe it will be Vicki I will be showing off. I know you think it will be a boy, but there is no way to tell, is there?"

Cici shook her head and waited for the next part of the conversation. They had been having this discussion since their return with no resolution yet. Adam looked at her with an eyebrow raised and didn't have to say anything. He waited for her to say something.

"Yes, we can hire a cook and housekeeper, but not yet please? I want to get things in the house the way I want them first. I want to spend Christmas Eve with you and only you. After Christmas, we can hire someone. Will that be all right?"

Adam had been pushing her to accept hiring someone and agreed quickly before she could change her mind. Not only had being with child made Cici more amorous, but she could be quite emotional in some decision making too so he knew the best choice was to agree quickly and without comment. It was a good compromise anyway: he had wanted to hire someone almost a month ago and she wanted to wait until it was near her delivery time so this was about halfway between.

"Adam, should we ask Matt to join us when we go to the main house for dinner today? I hate to see him all alone."

"Ah, he won't be alone. I think Jed is coming over again."

"We need to find a girl for him or he's going to spend his life as a bachelor all alone. I feel bad for him that he doesn't have a family. The only visitor he ever has is Jed except when he has some of the hands over to play cards on a Friday or a Saturday."

"He's happy with Jed."

"Well Jed could use a girlfriend too. He's a lot younger than Matt, but Matt seems to be his only friend. He could be very lonely too. Maybe that's why he's over here so much. Matt may be like a father to him or an older brother and he needs that."

Adam didn't know how to tell her. It wasn't a subject most people talked about so there wasn't a usual way to bring it up. He pinched the bridge of his nose and frowned so Cici knew something important was going on in that head of his. She waited to see if he would tell her.

"Um, Cici, Matt and Jed are not lonely."

Cici waited for him to say more. He didn't and she wondered why and wondered why he seemed so embarrassed about what he just said. Suddenly, she wondered if he could mean what she thought he meant and it dawned on her that he must based on what he had said already. She knew about this but had never known anyone who was at least as far as she knew.

"Matt and Jed have each other?"

Adam nodded. In medical school, one professor had repeatedly warned of the horrible problems that could result from masturbation and in her last year of studies, he started to include the repercussions of homosexuality too. Then he had gone on to warn of all sorts of things that were pleasures men and women engaged in. She had believed what he said in all those early lectures but had discovered with Adam that much of what he had said was a bunch of malarkey which made her wonder if his concerns about homosexuality were just as baseless. Adam did look embarrassed about the subject though so she had to ask.

"Does it bother you that they like each other that way?"

"No, it doesn't. They are good men. Love is love. The thing is that if others find out there could be some serious trouble. It's the kind of relationship people don't talk about out here or probably anywhere. People know. Maybe lots of people know it goes on but it's kept discreet and private. If it becomes public knowledge, there will be some kind of trouble for them."

"Why don't we hire Jed then? Wouldn't it be safer if he lived here?"

"We haven't hired him because we don't have enough work here to justify hiring two men so it would just cause the inquiry we are trying to avoid."

"Well, we're just going to have to find more work to do then so Jed can help us. You wanted to expand the stable and the corrals, add a forge and a workshop, and a smokehouse as well as a wine cellar, and I'm sure there must be more."

Adam held up his hands in surrender.

"I'll talk to Matt and see what he wants to do."

"When? Jed's coming over today you said so if you talked to him now they could discuss it and let us know what they want to do."

Adam smiled at her nervous energy about the topic, and agreed to go talk to Matt as soon as he finished his coffee. He reminded Cici not to talk to anyone at all about this not even his brothers because he wasn't sure they knew and neither one of them was any good at keeping a secret.

"Well how did you know?"

Adam hesitated to tell her. He wasn't sure this was even a conversation they should be having especially today. Finally he told her about some of what had happened to him in prison and that he learned what some of the clues were if men were so inclined to be with other men. He had noticed some things about Matt and they had had a frank conversation while riding to the mines one day. Matt trusted Adam and was willing to share that information about himself.

After Adam talked to Matt, Jed arrived. It didn't take long for the two men to let Adam know they liked the plan. Both of them knew they would be safer living in the bunkhouse at Adam's ranch than trying to maintain a relationship with Jed living at the Ponderosa bunkhouse and visiting Matt so often. Matt told Adam their decision when he drove the carriage to the house so that Adam and Cici could pack the things they were taking to dinner with his family. Adam asked his father that day if he could hire Jed to help Matt with some building projects.

"Adam, I think that is a wonderful idea."

No hesitation and no questions let Adam know that his father was aware of the situation. But like most men of the time, they did not discuss it. Adam nodded, and Ben was aware that he knew too. It was settled. Later Hoss asked if Adam and Joe could help him move some cattle from the high pastures down to the south pastures. He had gotten behind on moving cattle because of fence building for the new bulls and cows he had purchased. With storms starting to build over the Sierra, the last of the herd needed to be moved and he was shorthanded. The three brothers agreed they could do it starting the following day. Joe teased Adam because with the injury to his ankle and then his honeymoon, he had not spent much time in the saddle for months and might be saddle-sore by the time they got back.

"Joe, I'm always saddle-sore when I get back so it won't be anything new. I've got a house doctor now though if it's too painful."

He waggled his eyebrows and that started Hoss laughing that oversized guffaw of his and Joe's giggle soon had all the men laughing uproariously. Then they had to explain it to the ladies, which Adam attempted to do with polite conversation until Hoss interrupted.

"Aw heck, Adam, you jest said that if your get sore muscles, ya got a doctor who can take care of it for you. Then ya done that eyebrow thing of yours so we'd know what you really meant."

Cici raised her eyebrows at that, and she could swear it looked like Adam was blushing. He definitely looked embarrassed in front of her and Barbara. She had to laugh too so soon everyone had a good laugh. That night Cici asked him if he had any sore muscles so she could practice taking care of them for him. He had a few in mind and she practiced helping him with those which turned into quite an enjoyable evening for both of them.

The next morning, Adam packed to go to the high country with Hoss and Joe. At Matt's insistence, he included a canvas tarp, a slicker, and an extra bedroll. He got a sack of food with ham, bread, and preserves from Cici. Once he strapped his coat on top of that, he headed out. His brothers, especially Joe, had not packed nearly as much gear, but Hoss especially had a much larger food sack. Joe carried oats for the horses because he never wanted his Cochise to be hungry. The extra preparations were fortuitous because the three of them got caught in an early snowstorm on the second day up there. They found some shelter in a rock cliff and Adam used his tarp to create a lean-to that also acted as a windbreak with the cliff walls at their back. They spread Adam's slicker and extra blanket on the ground and then slept side-by-side using the three remaining bedrolls to stay warm. With a fire at the cliff wall radiating heat back into the lean to, they were comfortable as they waited out the storm. The extra food meant they were well fed on the extra day they spent there rounding up strays and then driving them down to the lower pastures.

As they rode home and neared the ranch house, Hoss saw a carriage in the yard.

"I sure hope that carriage means that Barbara is over and waiting for me. I been looking forward to a kiss for five days now."

"If that's the case, I'm hoping that Cici rode over with her."

Joe looked around at his two brothers who hadn't bathed nor shaved in five days. Adam had a pretty heavy growth of bristly beard already, and Hoss wasn't far behind.

"Ha, I'd bet a days wages that neither of you is getting a kiss when we get back. You both smell like cattle and horses or worse, and you look like shaggy mountain men with those beards."

"I'll take that bet." was an almost simultaneous response from his two older brothers.

As they neared the ranch, Cici came running out to greet them. Adam kicked his left foot out of the stirrup and Cici put her foot in it and Adam helped her up climb up and to sit across his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they kissed. Joe just shook his head and rode ahead with Hoss leaving Adam and Cici to ride in slowly behind. As Hoss reached the yard and saw Barbara standing there, he dismounted and Barbara walked toward his open arms and they embraced and kissed although in a much more chaste and proper way than Adam and Cici had. Joe shook his head and Hoss laughed when he saw them. A few minutes later Adam and Cici arrived and he helped her dismount before swinging down himself.

"We were worried about you boys. We saw the storm clouds get pretty bad up there. You look none the worse though so things must have been all right."

"Yup, Pa. We got all the cattle moved and we're all set for the winter. Adam and Joe were all the help I needed."

The children ran out of the house then to welcome their father and uncles back home. Everyone could see the sugar on their lips so they knew Hop Sing had treated them to powdered sugar something. In short order, Hoss was headed into the kitchen to find out what that was. Ben invited all to stay for dinner, but Cici and Adam declined. Rather than ride home double, Adam borrowed a carriage and they left. Barbara went inside to help Hop Sing with dinner preparations although mostly she put things on the table and washed pots, pans, and utensils. Hop Sing appreciated that she would do those things to help him so he was beginning to like her as much as he did Cici. After dinner, Hoss drove Barbara home with an extra horse tied to the back of the carriage for his return trip. Hours after he was expected back, Ben heard him ride in. When he came in the house, he had a big but sheepish smile on his face.

"Well?"

"She said yes!"

There were squeals from upstairs as the children heard the news too. Hoss looked up and told them to come on down as they were awake anyway. He sat on the settee with them, and they talked about how life would be different once Barbara was married to Hoss. Iris was especially happy that there would be a female in the house. She was getting old enough to like pretty dresses and ribbons and found her father, uncle, grandfather, and Hop Sing wholly inadequate when it came to such things.

 

Chapter 8

The morning after Barbara said yes, Hoss rode over to Adam's house because he had a couple of requests after he told his brother the news. He assumed Barbara would be telling Cici as soon as she saw her in town. The two ladies were best friends and had lunch together at least once each week. As Hoss rode up to Adam's place, he saw him with Matt and Jed working behind the stable or at least walking around back there.

"Hey, older brother, what ya up to?"

With an almost distracted look, Adam greeted Hoss but kept pulling string off a roll in his hand and walking in measured steps away from the stable back wall. He explained to Hoss that he was measuring out space to expand the stable and then to add corrals.

"Why?"

"Cici wants to raise some horses like her father did. He had a nice line of carriage horses and she would like us to try doing that too. She thinks that there's a market for them here and in California and I agree. We have room here to do this, and with Matt and Jed, we can get started this winter. Once we have the walls up, we can work on the stalls, a work area, and a larger tack room inside. We'll use the old tack room for storage and put room in the back here to put a carriage house. Then off the other side, we'll build a forge as well as expand the corrals. Next spring we'll fence in some breeding pastures."

"Oh, is that all. Heck, I thought maybe you had some big plans in the works."

Hoss started laughing so Adam decided not to tell him about the plans for a wine cellar and smokehouse.

"So did you just come here to laugh at me or some other dire purpose?"

"What? Oh, ifn you want to know why I came, it was to let ya know I asked Barbara to marry me and she said yes."

The three men congratulated Hoss, but it was apparent he still had something on his mind.

"Adam, I ain't got no ring for her. I was hoping you could go into town with me to help with that?"

"Hey, haven't you done this before?"

"Nah, I used the ring Pa had for Ma when I married Marie, but I can't use that ring again. She didn't want a big show for our wedding and she liked the connection to family, but I can't use it now with the connection it has now. I'll keep that ring and give it to one of the children to use someday. I want to get a real purty ring for Barbara, and I don't know what to ask for."

"Let me get cleaned up, and we'll take a ride into town and see what's available."

On the way to town, Hoss and Adam discussed options for rings. Cici's ring was an emerald surrounded by diamonds for her engagement ring and a gold band for her wedding ring. The two rings nested together when she wanted to wear them both, but most of the time she just wore the simple band. Adam told Hoss that he had matching earrings for her Christmas present, and that all would match the necklace he bought her on their honeymoon.

"Adam, I ain't got any idea how to do all that. You're the planner."

"Hoss, you just have to have an idea about what you like and what she likes, and then we can come up with a plan for you too."

"Well I know she likes blue, but I kinda like red better."

"I don't think there's a woman out there who would say no to a ruby. With her coloring, it would look good, and you could do the same with a necklace and earrings later, even a matching brooch or hairpins."

"You got those things in mind for Cici don't ya?"

Adam's smile was answer enough.

"Now why did you pick an emerald?"

"Green for the Ponderosa and the beautiful country here. The diamond is for 'always'."

"A diamond is really hard and strong too, ain't it?"

"Very much so."

"So the ruby could be for me giving her my heart, and the diamond for our love is strong?"

"Hoss, you may not like to read poetry, but you have the soul of a poet."

"Aw, shucks, Adam, I ain't got them purty words in me like you do."

As they arrived at the new jewelry shop not far from Cici's office, she saw them and waved. Barbara had already been there with her exciting news so Cici had a good idea what they were doing. In the shop, there were no rings that Hoss and Adam liked but they did find a setting they liked and asked how long to make the ring set. The jeweler said he could have the engagement ring done by Saturday. Hoss thought that was a good plan. There was the holiday dance on Saturday night so he show the ring to Barbara before the dance, and then they could attend church together on Sunday and announce their betrothal there. Adam asked him if he wanted to get a matching piece of jewelry to give as a Christmas gift because the holiday was so close. The jeweler was smiling as he said it and pulled out a larger but similar setting for a brooch. He said he could easily have it done in time. Hoss ordered that too and was as happy as he could be by the time they left the store. Hoss had not talked to Barbara's father yet and asked Adam to come along for that too, but he declined.

"I have no experience asking a father for his daughter's hand so I wouldn't be any help anyway. You're on your own with that one."

Barbara's father was very gracious even as Hoss stumbled over his questions. He had been expecting a Cartwright to ask for Barbara's hand but for years had originally thought it might be Adam. Now with Adam married, Hoss had been spending a lot of time with Barbara so he had once again hoped for his daughter to marry. Finally it was coming true. He wasn't sure if there would be grandchildren because of her age, but at least she would have a loving husband and a secure future. But there would be grandchildren. Part of the reason Hoss had been so late getting home after asking her was that she at first said no. She thought he should marry someone young enough to be sure he had children. Hoss insisted that if they could not have children naturally, he wanted to adopt because there were a lot of children in the orphanage and it broke his heart when he visited and couldn't take any of them home. When Barbara was sure that he meant it, she changed her answer to yes. They had kissed. Then Hoss had gone home but he hardly remembered the ride he had taken last night because he had spent all of the time picturing his future and it sure looked grand to him.

After getting Barbara's father to give his blessing, Hoss went looking for Adam. He had another request of his older brother. Well he had more than that, but one more he wanted to ask today. He found him easily by going to Cici's office first. Adam was in the front of the office entertaining some children with one of his stories. They were enthralled, and Hoss assumed that their mother was likely behind the closed door of the exam room. Hoss realized it was the story of how a bear had attacked Adam, but in his version, he bit the bear and then knocked him silly. His gestures and facial expressions had the three older children laughing hysterically. The toddler on his lap just sat on his lap gazing in amazement at the faces Adam was making. The story was nearly done when the door opened and their mother came out surprised that the front office was not in shambles and that her children were sitting and listening. She had heard so many stories about her doctor's husband and how he had killed and fought. After today, there would be another story making its way through the ladies of the town that a few of whom would find hard to believe, but the others would sigh and dream of what could have been.

Cici came out and said it was her last scheduled appointment of the day but because it was still so early, she would stay at the office and make sure her records and supplies were in good order. Hoss asked if he could treat them to lunch but Cici said she had already had a good early lunch with Barbara and they had already started discussing wedding plans. Adam agreed to lunch and to designing a home for Hoss which he requested while they ate.

"It don't have to be so fancy as yours, but I do like those two way fireplaces downstairs and how you got the walls of the fireplace exposed in the bedrooms upstairs. That way, those two fireplaces can heat eight rooms which was purty clever of ya. And if ya could, I'd like an indoor necessary and washroom next to the kitchen but I don't need a study."

"What were you thinking of the façade?"

At Hoss' quizzical expression, he changed that to 'siding'.

"Oh, I like the look of the Ponderosa ranch house. I like the porch too. Pa gave me some land not too far from your place but set in the trees. It's near the road, but ya can't see it from where the house will go. The level land isn't too much but I only need a small stable and corral besides the house."

"Close, huh?"

"Well not too close. I know you like your privacy, but I didn't want to be too far away either for Barbara's sake. Heck, she and Cici are good friends and visiting will be easy this way."

The brothers made plans for the dance on Saturday. The plan was that Hoss would escort Barbara to dinner and show her the ring. Adam and Cici would join them then to celebrate, have dinner, and all four would go to the dance together after dinner. The ladies agreed to the plan although Barbara knew nothing of the ring. Her rosy cheeks and bright smile at dinner though let them know that she was very pleased with the ring.

At the dance, Hoss danced with Barbara and Adam with Cici for the first several dances. Hoss was warm and wanted to sample the refreshments and food. At almost six months pregnant, Cici got tired and wanted to put her feet up so she encouraged Adam to dance with others. He was a popular dance partner because he flirted mildly, complimented each and every partner, and made any of the ladies he danced with feel as if she was the most beautiful lady at the dance at that moment. After a number of these dances though, Adam complained of being warm and wanted Cici to go outside. She declined because her legs were still uncomfortable so he walked outside by himself. He had not told her but he was developing a severe headache and the lights inside the hall were making it worse. Once outside, he removed his jacket and tie but couldn't seem to cool down. His back hurt but so did most of the other joints. He wondered what he had done to be so sore. Then almost without warning, he felt he had to retch. Joe walked out with Rachel and saw his brother on his knees and ran to him.

"Adam, you're burning up. Rachel, get Cici and quick."

Alerted by others who had come outside, Hoss was soon there too. "Dadburnit Adam, why didn't ya tell us you was feeling sick. Why ya always gotta let it get so bad before we know."

Adam had trouble answering Hoss and felt that his mind was in a fog. "I don't know. I don't know what's happening."

Cici rushed to her husband's side, and asked Joe and Hoss to get him over to her office. Once there, she started to unbutton his shirt and gasped as she saw a rash on his chest. There was only one thing that could cause all of this and she worried now for everyone she knew. She turned to Hoss and asked him to get Dr. Martin and Roy to come to her office. They needed to make plans and quickly. As she waited, she got Adam's shirt off and started placing cool compresses wherever she could. First and foremost, she had to get that fever down. Her husband had typhus and most likely there were going to be other cases.

 

Chapter 9

With Roy's help, Cici and Paul compiled a record of everyone who got sick in the typhus epidemic. Unfortunately, there was no clue in the map. The typhus outbreak in Virginia City was hitting in a seemingly sporadic manner. Adam Cartwright was the first to fall ill but soon there were a number of other cases. Everyone hit with the disease was in the middle to upper social strata of the city, which in itself was highly unusual. There were also an inordinate number of young men and women among those sick. There was no geographic pattern either as to where they lived with residences all over the area. Roy Coffee with ideas from both Doc Martin and Cici was trying to track the source of the outbreak. The dance hall had been converted into a temporary hospital ward. They had expected more victims, but by Sunday it appeared the rate of infection had dropped dramatically. Adam was still quite ill and being cared for in Cici's office by her and by his family. They had spent most of the last twenty-four hours trying to reduce his fever with only limited success. As a result, he was suffering delirium and had no idea what was happening although some of the comments would have been funny if the circumstances were different.

"You're so beautiful. Will you marry me?"

"Sh, sh, we're already married. You need your rest. Just try to relax. Sh."

"We're married? I'll be good to you. Pa, where's Mama? I need her, Pa."

And it went on and on like that as if he had a head injury that Cici feared could be true if they couldn't get his fever to break. There was a risk of brain damage. So around the clock they packed snow packs and ice packs on him to reduce the fever but only had limited success. The same was done with the others who were ill. The time of year was fortuitous because it meant that just a short ride into the hills got them all they needed to cool the patients. It was also surprising because it wasn't the usual time for a typhus outbreak.

"What do all these people have in common? I jest can't make hide nor tail of it."

Roy was perplexed. There didn't seem to be a pattern to this outbreak that he could decipher, and he was good at working out these kind of things. He wished Adam was in his right mind because he didn't know anyone better at puzzles than him, but he wasn't making any sense of anything so Roy had to rely on others to give him ideas. Doctor Martin wanted to know where everyone had been before falling ill.

"Perhaps if you can trace where these people have been for the last four or five days, we might have an idea of the source of the infection? Somehow, they must all be tied together somehow for the infection to have gotten to all of them."

"Now Doc, I done thought of that but they're all too sick to ask. I been asking family members and such but so far haven't been able to nail down any place they all been to lately."

"Roy, with all the people shut up in their houses because of this and the cold weather, I'm afraid there could be more people out there who are sick, and we simply haven't located them yet. Do you have enough help that you could start knocking on doors to check on people?"

Cici had been listening to the conversation.

"Maybe you could check locations to see if a large number of the patients have been there lately. It has to be local. You have a list of patients. Go to the places where they would likely have been and see how many have been there lately. They are male and female so restaurants, stores, and such would be the most likely places to check."

"Cici, that is a good idea. You and that husband of yours shur have a lot of smarts. I'll get right on that."

"Roy, the only places in town that I know Adam has been since returning have been the jewelers shop right across the street, Cici's office, Daisy's for lunch, and the dance tonight."

"Thanks Hoss, that should narrow down the choices for me to start checking although I can't see as how any of those places would likely start an outbreak like this. If you were with him, aren't you feeling sick at all."

"Nope, I'm fit as a fiddle."

Within an hour, Roy was back. He had found disturbing news at Daisy's. The staff there could remember that almost all the people on the list had been there in the last week. Not surprising because Daisy's was a popular lunch spot, but surprising because several of the workers there were among the patients and there were no patients from any of the other restaurant staffs in town. He had checked.

"Cici, I need some help. How could a restaurant be the source of the outbreak, but only some people got it?"

"Roy, if it was in the water they were using, I would think everyone would be sick. It might be in the food they are using. You need to shut that restaurant down now."

Roy sent Clem to do just that. "Now we also got a list of names of other people they remembered being there. It includes me and I feel fine."

Suddenly Joe got a shocked expression on his face. "I took Rachel and the children there to lunch Friday." He raced out of Cici's office and headed to the house where his estranged wife and his children were.

Hoss asked Cici where she and Barbara had been having their lunches and when she said that they too had been eating at Daisy's, he raced from her office as fast as Joe had left, but he returned in a short time to say with relief that Barbara was feeling fine.

However Joe did not return, and Cici suggested that Hoss ought to go to find out what the cause of the ominous delay was. When he arrived there, the door was open. He entered and called Joe's name. Hearing a muffled reply from upstairs, Hoss ran up the stairs andfound Joe kneeling at Rachel's bedside.

"Hoss, she's gone. They're all gone. I wondered why she didn't come to see us after the dance. I was looking for her but she wasn't anywhere. I didn't want to push too hard so I didn't check. I didn't check and now she's dead. My babies are dead. It's all my fault."

Hoss checked for a pulse and thought he found a faint one but more importantly, Rachel was hot. If she had died, she wouldn't be so hot.

"Joe, listen to me, she ain't gone. She's mighty sick though. You run and get some of that ice and get it back here. Joe, go now!"

In a near state of panic, Joe still followed Hoss' orders probably because Hoss barked them out with such authority. Hoss went to check on the kids and found them in the same state. He wasn't sure of a faint heartbeat or shallow breathing, but they were hot and that meant they were alive. When Joe returned, they placed cold packs on all three. Then they set out to get clean bedding for them and get them into clean gowns. With the ice packs, the three started to rally. Hoss went to get some help to care for them and in making broth because they needed to get some fluid into them. Once they had a helper at the house to make the broth, they added ice to cool it, and they started feeding that in small amounts to their patients. Ben showed up to help too. Adam's fever was being reduced slowly so he had time to make sure Joe's family survived this as well. Adam's fever did not break for two days although it was no longer at dangerously high levels, but Rachel and the kids were showing signs of recovery by the next day.

By the end of the week, a few of the patients had died, but most were recovering. The use of ice and snow packs had helped significantly. There was weight loss and weakness. The longer and more severe the fever, the weaker the patient was. Adam fit in the category of the weakest. Cici prescribed weeks of bed rest which wouldn't be a problem at first because he could do nothing for himself, but Ben and his brothers cringed at the thought of the patient he would be when he started to feel a bit better. As he improved, he got more grumpy and demanding which were sure signs he was starting to feel a bit better.

Roy showed up with some unusual questions. Did Adam like tomatoes? Did Hoss? Barbara? Cici? Joe? Rachel? When he got the answers of yes, no, no, no, no, and yes, he nodded. The tomatoes served in the restaurant had arrived the previous Monday from California. One of the cooks had remembered that Adam wanted tomatoes with his sandwich. In checking around, Roy found that a large number of those who were ill liked tomatoes. It was an unusual source of such an outbreak he thought, but Cici assured him it was possible.

Joe stayed in town to take care of Rachel and his children. It appeared that their reconciliation, that had looked improbable at one time, was now a real probability. Joe hired a cook-housekeeper and that was met with a positive response from Rachel. Joe and Rachel were spending time talking and the revelations in these conversations were astounding.

"I only started seeing another man because I wanted to make you jealous. You weren't paying attention to us, and I was hurt by that and worried."

"I thought you didn't want to see me. I was such a jackass."

"No, I was upset with you. But I still loved you. I wanted you to show you were sorry and pledge never to do something like that again, but you never talked to me about it."

"I got drunk. I don't even know why any more. I didn't know I was married, heck, I don't even remember going up those stairs. The next morning when I woke up, I realized what I had done. I was so ashamed and mad at myself. I wish you could have beaten me. It would have made both of us feel better."

"You don't remember being with her?"

"No. I haven't had more than a single beer since and not that often either. I guess I finally accept that alcohol is not for me. It brings out the worst in me. I can't handle it. Adam can get falling down drunk and still be polite to a lady. I saw him tip his hat to a lady once after he fell on the floor he was so drunk. He apologized for falling down in front of her. He woke up with a pounding headache the next day. I wake up with a ton of guilt when I realize what I did the night before or when somebody tells me what I did."

"Can you pledge not to drink?"

"Nothing at all?"

"Yes."

"No, I can't do that, not living here. I could say it, but it wouldn't last. I could pledge to try to drink only one beer and get one of my brothers to go along with me or Candy could do it too. Not one of those men would ever have left me go up those stairs that night."

"Would you be comfortable with that?"

"A lot more comfortable with that than with hurting the ones I love the most."

"If you can make that pledge with your brothers present, I will accept it and trust you."

"Well it's going to be a long while before Adam's up to it. He's weak as a kitten, and Cici says he needs weeks of bed rest. But I'll get Hoss and Candy to come here today or tomorrow if that will be good enough?"

"Yes, I think it's time we start working together."

"Being together?"

"Yes."

Joe reached for Rachel, and she accepted his embrace. Tentatively at first, and then with emotion born from longing, the kisses grew more passionate. Joe pulled away. He didn't want to go too fast and ruin things. When he told that to Rachel, she smiled and then Rachel pulled him back to her, and they kissed more. Joe pulled away again, and Rachel wondered why until he stood and closed the bedroom door and returned to his wife's embrace.

By the next day, Rachel and the children started being able to eat some solid food. They were on the road to recovery. For Adam, it went quite a bit slower. Rehydration was working, but he still couldn't keep anything down except broth and tea. He still had a cough. It would be weeks before he was back on his feet. Cici wanted to take him home where he at least would have his books but first they needed a cook-housekeeper. Normally Adam would have liked his idea being acted upon, but because it was to care for him, it just made him grumpier. Hoss brought the carriage and carried a blanket wrapped Adam to it. The glower alone was enough to let everyone know how humiliated he felt about that. Once home, he insisted on sitting in a chair where he promptly turned pasty white and nearly passed out as the room spun around from his perspective.

"You are not ready for this mister. You belong in bed, and that's where Hoss is taking you. Rest is the only solution until you are able to eat solid food."

So the crisis was over. Within weeks, most of those stricken were well on their way back to leading their normal lives again. Most would not eat tomatoes again.

 

Chapter 10

Christmas Eve was not the one that Adam and Cici had envisioned. He was still weak and spending most of his time in bed or in a chair. At least the vertigo and vision problems had gone so he could read and take care of his own basic needs, but he was just starting to be able to eat solid food and gain his strength back. As a result, Hoss, with Barbara at his side, picked up Adam and Cici in the sleigh for the ride to the Ponderosa main house for a celebration with the extended family. It was the first time that all of them would be together for anything. It was snowing and there was already a lot of snow on the ground. It looked like it could be an extended stay so they packed accordingly.

Joe, Rachel, and their children came in another sleigh. Joe knew he had made a mess of his marriage and his family but Rachel was willing to work with him to fix it. Rachel though had not spent much time with Adam and hardly knew Cici so she was quite nervous about how the visit would go. That it was likely to be at least several days with all of them in one house made her even more nervous. She need not have feared. When she and Joe arrived, they were met with smiles and warm greetings. Cici, Hoss, Barbara, and Ben all came outside to welcome them and help them carry things inside. Adam greeted her when she got in the house.

"Rachel, we are so happy to see you here. I'm glad you were able to forgive Joe, and we're quite grateful that you were willing to try to tame this cur of ours."

Adam's gracious greeting although meant to prick his brother too was very welcome. Cici and Barbara volunteered to help her and the kids get settled upstairs in their rooms. Within a short time, there was a convivial atmosphere. Even Adam's grumpiness at being confined to a chair with a blanket over his legs did nothing to diminish the good cheer. Knowing that Adam needed to do something, Hoss suggested he tell the girls and Mark the bear story he had used to entertain some children in Cici's office. Well that was all he needed to get into the spirit of the holiday. Soon not only the girls but most of the adults were laughing at his exaggerated tale of besting a grizzly without firing a shot.

"Cici, my son is going to be a wonderful father. And I know you are going to be a wonderful mother."

"Papa, I can't wait. It seems to be taking so long. I wish it could be over soon."

"I think all my wives felt that way in the last couple of months."

"Less than three months to go."

"By next Christmas, this will be an even bigger gathering."

Seeing the look on Cici's face, Ben was quick to add an amendment to that statement. "I know you wanted Christmas Eve to be a special time for your family. Next year it will be. We will all gather for Christmas Day in the future so each family also has some time to enjoy the holiday together in their own homes. This year with everything that happened, it just seemed to be a good idea to pull everyone together."

Cici gave Ben a hug, and he returned it. He loved this daughter-in-law more than he could have imagined. He had not seen Adam so relaxed and happy probably in his whole life, and he knew that Cici was the reason for that. Even with the troubles Adam had had in the past year and the tragedies that he had endured before meeting Cici, he was happier than anyone could remember. Both of them watched as he launched into another story that had the children enthralled. Bethany Leigh crawled up on his lap and Anna Maria who was older sat cross-legged before him as Iris leaned against his arm as she knelt by his side and Mark sat on the arm of the chair leaning against his shoulder. Rachel and Barbara had never seen this gentle child-sensitive side of Adam and were amazed.

Barbara moved over to stand next to Hoss.

"I never knew Adam could be this way with children. It's amazing."

"Not to me."

"You've seen him like this before?"

"Yup, I shur did. For a lot of years, he did that for me telling me stories, looking after me, and making sure I felt safe. He did the same for Joe quite a bit too. You forgit that Adam was older than us and pretty much helped raise us up. Seeing as how he was so good at it when he was mostly a young'un himself, I reckon he's gonna be a right good father to his own."

With that, Hoss wrapped his arm around Barbara, and seeing the look in her eyes, he suggested they go out to the stable to see the new kittens. No one was surprised that they wanted to do that, but most assumed they wanted some private time as well. Unlike the two married couples, it was going to be difficult for Hoss and Barbara to find time alone over these days. Most anticipated that there would be lots of trips to go see the kittens.

The walk to the stable was more difficult than they had imagined it would be. The wind had picked up and the snow was heavier. Once in the stable, Hoss moved to put blankets over the backs of the horses. He made sure they still had food and water. Then he moved the kittens in their basket to an open stall between two of the horses and piled straw all around them. Mama cat was a little perturbed at all the interference but once he finished, she snuggled in and let the kittens nurse. Hoss wrapped his arms around Barbara as she watched the tender scene. The he gently turned her face to his and kissed her. Barbara wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a more passionate kiss. It was getting more and more difficult for them to call a halt when they felt their passion aroused but in this case, the storm outside did the trick. They could not linger. In fact when Hoss went to open the door, he observed that the storm was even worse. He backed up inside quickly and closed the door.

"We need to string a rope line. And we are going to tie a rope to each other as well as to the rope line. If we have trouble getting to the house, we can always retreat here. There's a Franklin stove in the tack room for emergency use and this would be one of those."

"Won't they worry about us in the house and come looking?"

"Well, I shur hope they got more sense than that."

Hoss found a large coil of rope and took one of the lariats from the tack room. He used the lariat to tie himself to Barbara and to the rope line securely. Then he found a blanket and wrapped that around Barbara and wrapped the lariat around that as well. Once bundled and tied together and secured to the barn itself, Hoss headed into the snowstorm in the direction of the house. He struggled against the snow and in trying to keep Barbara upright. He was about to give up and head back to the barn when he felt a tree. Assuming it had to be the one to the west of the kitchen, he used it to get his bearings and pushed to get to what he hoped was the kitchen door. He couldn't see anything so when the wall of the house loomed in front of him he actually walked into it. His nose was hurt but it was so cold he didn't feel any pain. He felt along the side of the wall until he located the door and then pulled Barbara in behind him. The door wouldn't close all the way because of the rope but Joe and Ben were there soon and took charge of tying off the rope line.

As Hoss and Barbara shed the blanket and their wet coats and boots, they noticed that Ben and Joe were in their coats.

"We were about to come get you. We had some rope from the bunkhouse that was going to be used to make some ropes for branding. Between the two of us, we thought we could get to the barn."

"Pa, I'm jest glad ya didn't have ta try. I barely made it myself. I almost headed back to the barn to fire up the stove in the tack room. That is one of the worst storms I've ever been in."

Soon Hoss and Barbara were wrapped in a blanket in front of the fireplace and sipping brandy. Cici had offered them a blanket each but Hoss insisted that one would be plenty. Adam and Joe smirked at that. Hoss just said that they would be warmer sharing body heat but he couldn't help grinning as he said it. Rachel was amazed at the open affection she saw between Hoss and Barbara as well as that between Adam and Cici. Earlier Cici had briefly sat on Adam's lap even though all the others were still in the room. Rachel had never seen her parents show affection like that and in fact had never seen her mother and father even kiss. In this one day, she had seen more kisses, hugs, and other signs of affection than she had seen in her entire childhood. She wondered why Joe never showed affection to her in public although he was very demonstrative in private. Willing to experiment, Rachel walked over next to Joe and wrapped her arm around his waist. He looked down at her in surprise and she realized she was the reason he showed no affection in public. In the past, she would have shunned it if he had. This time though, he smiled at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him.

"Feeling the Christmas spirit?"

"The love in this house is hard to miss. Thank you for bringing us here tonight. Later, I think we should get reacquainted some more."

Joe's eyes lit up with that statement. They had been intimate in the past week but it had been limited by Rachel's recovery from typhus and her reluctance to trust Joe. He could tell though that the time here had already strengthened the bond between them. Adam caught Hoss' eye and nodded at Joe and Rachel who now stood face to face in an embrace whispering to each other. Hoss looked back with a smile and Adam did his classic smirk.

When it was time for gifts, Joe's girls were jumping up and down with excitement and Iris and Mark looked to their father with such wistful expressions, expressions, his heart melted. So it wasn't at all a surprise that the adults got the gifts out for the children first. Santa's gifts would be there in the morning, but these gifts were from their grandpa and uncles. Each girl received a comb, brush, and mirror set from grandpa. From Hoss, there were carved picture frames with their parents' wedding picture inside. From Adam and Cici, there were dolls and scarves for each doll that matched one for each girl. Mark got a new set of boots, a jackknife, and a book about sailing ships and a small ship in a bottle. The children were sent up to bed then after some hot chocolate.

Then each couple had gifts to share. Hoss had a beautiful diamond and ruby necklace for Barbara that matched her ring. Adam had insisted Hoss order it made at the same time he ordered the ring. Joe gave Rachel a carved ivory music box, which caused her to cry but Joe was more than willing to kiss away the tears. Cici got emerald and diamond earrings that matched her engagement ring and the necklace she got on her honeymoon. Adam who had reverted to wearing a lot of black, got a dark grey Stetson and matching leather vest from Cici. Joe got some of the dime novels he loved to read especially to his girls who enjoyed the stories as much as he did. Hoss got some carving tools from Barbara. Joe and Hoss went to the bunkhouse and returned with Ben's gift from his sons wrapped in a blanket: a new saddle with elaborate turquoise and silver inlay.

"It's not for everyday, of course, but Pa when ya go to town to a meeting or ta church, ya can go in style now."

Ben knew that the three had to have planned this many months in advance and was very happy not just for the gift but that his sons had worked together on it so he told them just that. There were lots of self -congratulatory smiles and nods this night. Ben handed out his gifts last. Each son unwrapped a box containing a framed map of the Ponderosa with a legal document making them full partners. All had the same authority now with banks and businesses as well as on the ranch. There was silver picture frame in each box with a picture of that son's mother. Ben had had an artist reproduce them almost exactly. Each daughter-in-law received a leather bound Bible with many pages in the front for recording family births, weddings, and other special events. It was after midnight by then so everyone bid good night except Hoss and Barbara who returned to the settee in front of the fire. The others left to give them a little more private time. Adam and Cici were sharing the downstairs guest bedroom so it would be easier for Adam to get around.

As Hoss and Barbara kissed passionately, it was the proximity of Adam and Cici that kept things from progressing too far. They need not have worried because that couple was otherwise occupied once Cici decided to wear her matching earrings, necklace, ring, and nothing else.

"Barbara, we need to set a date. I don't know how long I can take this. I want you so bad it hurts. Can we be married this winter? I know a lot of brides like spring but I don't want to wait that long."

"Hoss, I would marry you this minute if there was a minister available. My father is going to insist on at least six weeks of engagement though."

They discussed potential dates and agreed on one day they thought would be special.

"Perfect. Or as perfect as we can hope for I guess. I love you so much."

They kissed more but before it got out of control, they hugged and walked up the stairs together to kiss one more time before bidding each other good night. Each would have trouble falling asleep this night thinking about the other. In the morning, there were gifts from Santa under the tree for the girls and all sorts of squealing and laughing as they opened them. Adam sat in the blue chair and as Cici came out of the guest bedroom, he smiled that full dimpled smile that could light up a room, and Cici walked over and placed her hand on his cheek as she kissed him. Joe poked Hoss in the ribs when he saw them and waggled his eyebrows like Adam did sometimes.

"Oh, Joe, how could they? Adam is still having trouble just staying upright and Cici is six months with child."

"There are ways, Hoss, there are always ways."

Joe laughed and went to sit next to his girls and his wife. Ben was in the red chair overseeing everything. Barbara came down the stairs and Hoss' smile couldn't have been wider. He met her at the bottom step with a good morning kiss. He asked her if they could make the announcement and she nodded.

"Well, dadburnit, I got an announcement to make. We set the date. We're gonna get hitched on Valentine's Day."

Chapter 11

In his full bellowing father mode, Ben stood in his home and glared at Hoss. "Fire and brimstone, I can't believe this. I worried about this when you boys were younger, but I thought those days were long gone!"

Adam couldn't help a smirk and unfortunately for him, his father saw it.

"And you were the one I worried about the most and the longest so don't go making those faces."

Joe looked over at Adam. If he was Pa, he wouldn't have worried as much about Adam as he did about himself. As far as he knew, Adam had always been careful, but he was a lot younger than Adam so perhaps his 'perfect' older brother hadn't always been so careful. This could lead to some opportunities for embarrassing his older brother when he could devise the best scenario for using this information. However, nothing was quite as good as the predicament Hoss found himself in. Now this, Joe thought was hilarious.

"Pa, we was worried she couldn't have children at her age . . . . "

"So you thought you would test your theory early. That was not a good idea!"

"Pa, what I meant to say was we weren't as careful as we shoulda been cause we didn't think it would matter."

"Matter? You didn't think it would 'matter'? You compromised the reputation of a wonderful young woman and her father. You compromised the reputation of this family, and you didn't think it would 'matter'?"

Hoping that his brothers being there might help calm the waters, Hoss had chosen this meeting about Ponderosa projects to tell his father that Barbara was with child. The couple had only been intimate on two occasions, but apparently that had been all that mattered. They had taken the sleigh back after Christmas and had a blanket over their legs because of the cold. After dropping Adam and Cici at their home, they had continued to Barbara's house. She kept her hand on his thigh and snuggled up to his side to keep warm. Then there was a note from her father that he would be in Carson City for a week. Barbara invited Hoss to stay for a time and they had ended up in her bedroom. Barbara had missed her flow in this cycle and already was plagued by morning sickness, which her father had recognized immediately. That first day, after discovering Barbara's news, arriving on his doorstep had been very uncomfortable.

"Pa, Barbara's been feeling sick a lot so we were hoping that the wedding could take place in the early afternoon instead of the morning. She's throwing up over and over again in the morning. Cici said she got it early and that could mean it's going to get even worse and could last another two months or so."

"Well, I hoped she had seen a doctor."

"Yes, she went to see Cici as soon as she suspected something."

With a meaningful glare at Adam, Ben just stared at Hoss for a time. Joe was thinking of some way to escape the rest of the conversation between Ben and Hoss.

"Pa, I think Adam is looking a might peaked, and I ought to get him out to the kitchen for some of Hop Sing's tea."

"Adam is just fine. It's six weeks since he was ill. Now we need to discuss how to handle this situation."

"Oh, I think Hoss has already 'handled' it. Now we just need the wedding to make it legal." Adam couldn't help a little jab or two.

"I have had just about enough of your smart mouth!"

"Oh, c'mon, Pa, it's done. They were engaged at the time. It happens all the time out here. Only the gossips in town are even going to care. I think that an early afternoon wedding should work well. We can have the dinner right after and then some dancing. Do you think we ought to use the house or perhaps open the barn for an old fashioned barn dance. With Hoss and Barbara liking animals so much, it just seems that a barn dance might be fun. It will be the middle of February too which will be a difficult time for people to travel in their finery."

Now Ben's anger was focused on Adam, and Hoss appreciated the reprieve even if it was going to be brief. Joe was impressed at how easily Adam could manipulate their father in a conversation. He doubted that their father even knew what had happened until later when he thought about it.

"Well, I suppose the ladies have been planning the wedding so we ought to ask them if that fits in with the work they have already done. Otherwise, yes, that does seem like a good idea."

Joe was feeling sympathy for Hoss at this point. He would have to live here for two more weeks under the unrelenting judgment of their father and without Adam's help. Joe wished he had room in his house to offer Hoss a place to stay, but at this point he didn't, and didn't want his father's wrath to turn his way either. He and Rachel with their daughters had moved back into their home. It would be Hoss and their rattling around in this house until the wedding when Barbara would join them here although the presence of the children should soften what Ben would say most of the time. There was a knock on the door and Candy walked in. Immediately noticing the atmosphere in the room, he looked at Hoss with a questioning look and Hoss nodded at him. Ben saw that.

"Did everyone know before I did?"

"Pa, I think Hoss had to practice telling it before facing you." Adam again stepped in to deflect the anger away from Hoss.

"Well, is it that hard to talk to your father?"

Joe was first. He couldn't help it. With all the tension of the morning, and then that question, he just went over the edge. He began to giggle and then laugh so hard he had to sit down. Adam and Candy began to laugh at about the same time. Hearing Ben's question and then with Joe laughing hysterically, the usual self-controlled men burst into loud laughter. Hoss had to join in. Finally, Ben couldn't help himself and joined them all in a grand laugh fest. Hop Sing walked out of the kitchen to see what all the laughing was about. He had heard Hoss' admission and most of the rest of the conversation as he eavesdropped from the usual place at the dining room door, but had heard nothing that seemed to justify all this laughter.

"Foolishment, all time foolishment."

But Hop Sing walked back into the kitchen with a smile. As far as he was concerned, laughing Cartwrights could handle any issue. All was well again. He prepared a tray with coffee and some fresh baked cookies to take out to the five men who were supposed to be discussing upcoming projects on the Ponderosa. Hoss relaxed back into his chair. The worst was over. Now he expected he would have to put up with two weeks of relentless jibes from his brothers though. Joe started almost immediately.

"Hoss, maybe you needed another one of those 'talks' with Pa. Don't seem like the first ones worked."

As they prepared to leave, Adam walked over and put his hand on Hoss' shoulder, and Hoss braced for a stinging jibe. Adam was the best of anyone he knew at delivering those, and he just wondered what it was going to be.

"Hoss, we're going to be fathers. Can you believe it?"

Hoss looked in shock at Adam before smiling.

"In a few months, you'll be lying in bed and you can put your hand on that baby bump and feel the life you created. I have never been amazed at anything in my life like I was when I first felt my child move."

"Ya know, Adam, I'm supposed to feel bad about this, but I don't. I am thrilled that we're going to have a baby. We talked of adopting 'cause we thought mebbe we wouldn't be able to have a child, and now that there's one on the way, I cain't feel bad about it."

"Pa won't either once he has a chance to calm down. Three sons married and with children is the answer the prayers he's been offering up for years, and who could have thought that was even possible a year or two ago."

"That's right. You and Cici ain't been married a whole year yet."

Hoss slapped Adam on the back and Adam got on his horse. He tipped his hat to Hoss and rode off. Hoss turned to go back in the house. At least Candy was still there for some support. He was going to ask him to stay for dinner.

 

Chapter 12

There was no topic that Cici and Adam had off limits so Cici took the opportunity one day to broach a subject that had confused her. "Why is Rachel always so uncomfortable around you? She's always making excuses to leave the room you're in, and if she can't get away, she stays as far away from you as she can."

This was another one of those stories from the past that Adam would rather not have to tell Cici, but he wouldn't lie to her even by omission. He had to tell her.

"When I left, Rachel led Joe to believe something about me that wasn't at all true. It is the reason that Joe and Rachel got together in the first place so it wasn't all bad, but I think every time she sees me, she remembers."

"Has she ever apologized?"

"No, we have not had a conversation since I have been back. It has been what you see, and of course for quite a while, I didn't see her at all."

Curious as to what could make Rachel that uncomfortable around Adam and Adam reluctant to tell her, Cici had to ask more. "What did she lead Joe to believe?"

Oh, he definitely did not want to talk about that but now had to. "She led Joe to believe I had relations with her, and that she might be with child because of it. She led him to believe I was the father when in fact she wasn't even with child and had never been with me that way."

Seeing the look on Cici's face, he wished again that they were not having this conversation. It couldn't help anything and his greatest fear was that something like this could cause Cici to doubt him. Losing her was by far what worried him most in his life because he thought he could handle other events after all that he had already experienced. Anything that could cause her to leave him though was something to be avoided. Her upcoming delivery date was worrying him enough; he didn't need her to be worrying about his past and how it could affect their relationship.

"I danced with her one Saturday night. Then I couldn't get away from her. We never even kissed. I left the dance early. I don't know if she hatched her plan before or after that night, but apparently she wanted her father and mine to think I had done the deed with her so they would insist I marry her."

"If someone wrote your life as a dime novel, the readers would think the author had gone just crazy with all the things he had happen to the central character. In this year, you got married, got kidnapped, got caught in a cave-in, and then caught typhus."

"The year isn't over yet."

"Don't even say that. I could not bear to lose you. I'm so sorry to hear the bad things that have happened to you. I am amazed that you are the man you are after all of it and aren't bitter and angry at the world. You have an amazing resiliency as well as an ability to forgive that is admirable. You are the true Christian. You may not spout the Bible like some, but you live it."

Cici ran her hand through the hair on Adam's chest. He pulled her to him but she rolled around to spoon with him. It was getting harder and harder to snuggle. Spoon fashion allowed him to hug her and sometimes his hands could roam. Tonight was a night to sleep though so they snuggled in together and soon Cici was asleep. As her breathing settled in to a sleep pattern, Adam rose up on his elbow and kissed her on the cheek. Then he too snuggled in to sleep.

At the same time at their house, Joe and Rachel had been having a similar conversation.

"I don't know why a Sunday dinner at Pa's house has to be such a drama. Why can't you just talk to Adam some time and say you're sorry. He's a very forgiving person, or at least when his temper has cooled down. Everyone is uncomfortable at family gatherings because of the tension between you and Adam. He gets along great with our daughters. Barbara adores him."

"It's only because he tells them stories."

"Oh, come on, you know it's more than that. Why can't you trust him enough to say you're sorry? He has done nothing to indicate that he feels anything bad about you. If you apologize, then you can relax. If you do that, everyone else will too."

"If you think it will work, I'll try, but after so long now, it will be even more difficult."

"We're trying for a fresh start here. That might be a good way to open a conversation with him. Get all of us to start fresh?"

"When?"

"Tomorrow I have to take you and the girls into town to finish the fittings on your dresses for Hoss' wedding. Cici will be there too so you know Adam will be around. What I'm asking you to do won't take long, and then we can all move forward."

Rachel knew he was correct in that assumption, but her stomach already had butterflies anticipating what she would have to say. She reminded Joe that her father wanted to make a trip into town too. He wasn't getting around very well anymore and his eyesight had gotten weaker so he couldn't ride that far nor drive himself in his wagon. About once a week for supplies and then on Sundays when the weather was fair, he rode with them to town.

The next morning, Rachel was up early. She was very nervous and bustled about in the kitchen making a special breakfast for her family. Joe came in and understood immediately that she was working off nervous energy. He sat down and waited until she had a moment to ask for coffee. Once the girls were up, they sat down to a sumptuous breakfast. Then they cleaned up and climbed into the carriage for the ride to her father's house. Soon the five of them were headed to Virginia City. Just outside the city limits, disaster struck. Virginia City was built on the side of a mountain. Some of the roads were steep and with ore and lumber passing through, there was at least one wagon that crashed out of control every week although town gossips said it was every day. As they drove into town, one of those runaway wagons was headed their way. It was a logging wagon and it was rolling backwards in a completely haphazard way. Joe tried to avoid it but it clipped the back wheel of the carriage as it careened down the road and flipped the carriage over. Logs, wagon, carriage, and people were tumbled out onto the road.

Rachel heard screams and then darkness overtook her. When she awakened a short time later, her head was cradled in Joe's lap, and her daughters were at her side sobbing.

"I'll be all right, sweethearts. I just got a bump on the head. I'm so glad to see that none of you are hurt."

They did have scrapes and bruises, but for the most part, they had escaped unscathed. Suddenly Rachel asked for her father.

"Where is he? What happened to him?"

"Adam and Cici are with him. They drove up just after it happened."

Rachel pushed herself up, and with Joe's help, walked to where her father lay in Adam's arms. They heard the two men talking softly.

"Say, Adam did you ever marry my daughter? She wanted to marry you something fierce."

"Yes, Rachel is Mrs. Cartwright now. She has two beautiful Cartwright daughters. You're a grandfather twice over. Don't you remember those two beautiful girls?"

"Nah, Adam, I can't hardly remember nothing now. I took quite a spill there. I'm so tired now, do you think I could just go to sleep?"

"Your daughter and granddaughters are here now. How about if you say goodbye and then take your nap?"

Frank saw Rachel and her daughters then. He smiled a weak little smile.

"There you are. Adam says to say goodbye and then I can take a nap."

And his eyes closed for the last time. Rachel looked at Cici who shook her head for there was nothing anyone could do for him. He had suffered severe internal injuries as well as a head injury, and his system was already shutting down. Rachel sat by his side and held his hand. Slowly the color drained from his face and the shallow breathing stopped. Rachel and her daughters burst into tears. Joe wrapped his arms around all three. Adam carefully laid Frank down and got a blanket from his carriage to cover him. People from town had already arrived to help.

Rachel looked over to Adam.

"Thank you. You let my father die with dignity, and you were so kind to him. I am sorry for anything bad I ever said or implied about you. It was wrong to do, and you never deserved to be treated so badly by me."

Adam nodded his appreciation for what she had said. Then Cici came over to take care of the abrasions and any scratches anyone had. Out here, infection even of a scratch could be serious and could even turn deadly.

 

Chapter 13

Joe and Rachel buried her father on the Ponderosa near where his mother was buried. The funeral was held at that site even though it was quite cold. Adam and Hoss had worked with the hands to clear an area and get a grave dug. The heavier than usual snow cover helped as the frost had only penetrated a few inches. They planned to get a proper headstone in place in spring. The unfortunate and untimely death of Mr. Green in an accident did serve to push Rachel into a closer relationship with Joe. She needed him even more because of it, and he was there at her side. There was a lot to do with selling the ranch and taking care of the stock. Luckily it was winter so there wasn't much to do on the Ponderosa with the horses. The only difficulty was the weather, but they did have some months to get everything squared away.

Meanwhile, Hoss was getting more and more nervous. Not only was his wedding day drawing closer, Ben had asked if he and Barbara would live at the Ponderosa main house. With Adam and Joe gone and Candy living in Hoss' old house, there would be just Ben and Hop Sing rattling around in the big house. Hoss felt his father was feeling lonely and didn't want to disappoint him, but Barbara was a little disappointed that they were not going to have their own home. Hoss was torn and finally went to Adam for advice.

"Adam, it seems that I can't make the right decision here. No matter what I do, someone I love if going to be unhappy."

"What is it that Barbara wants most?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, is she looking for privacy, to decorate her own place, to cook, or who knows what else."

"I think it might be a little of each of those."

"I propose that you offer Pa a compromise. If he doesn't accept it, then you can follow through with building your own home right away. Pa can move into the bedroom downstairs. It will be closer to the washroom and the new necessary. You and Barbara will be the only ones upstairs except when there are guests. Some of the furniture in the house is as old or at least older than Joe. Barbara should be able to choose some new furniture and window coverings to replace the old. You're going to have to redecorate one of the bedrooms as a nursery anyway. And maybe you ought to get some new dishes too."

"Gosh, I sure wish she'd get rid of those damn tiny china cups Marie brought from New Orleans. Can't git my finger in that little opening to hold it, and it barely holds two swallows of coffee."

"I have dreamed of using those little cups for target practice any number of times!"

"How do you think of how to do these things so easy. I been thinking on this for days and I had no idea what to do."

Adam smiled. How could he explain it? His brain just worked that way. Presented with a problem, he would analyze it, break it into its component parts, and brainstorm possible avenues for solutions for each part of the problem. Then he would choose the ideas that made the most sense to him, and that was it.

"Hoss, tack a folded blanket to the back of the headboard or have Barbara come up with a decorative way to do it."

Hoss looked at him with surprise and a little bit of a questioning look.

"I used to hear Pa and Marie's bed banging into the wall. It made sleep difficult some nights. I've heard the same when we had visitors and someone got a bit energetic. At Christmas, Cici and I hung a quilt over the headboard even though we were downstairs."

"Dadburnit, Joe said you would."

"That we would hang a quilt over the headboard?"

"No, but he said that you would, you know, even though you was still so weak and Cici is so, you know, kinda big to do things."

Adam started to laugh. Hoss was so funny. Even entering his second marriage, he found it difficult to say the words. Hoss had to smile too even as he faked being angry with Adam.

"Dadblame it, Adam, ya don't hafta be laughing at me." Hoss threw an arm around Adam's shoulders and hugged him close. "Thank ya, older brother. I think your idea jest might work."

And it did. Barbara was happy that Hoss had seen what she wanted and responded to it. Ben was willing to move to the downstairs bedroom if it meant one of his sons would stay in the big house. That bedroom was warmer in winter too, as well as being closer to everything, and he wouldn't need to worry about the stairs any more either. On the redecorating, Ben was going to move the settee into his bedroom, and the red chair next to his desk, while the blue chair would be given away or recovered and put in a spare bedroom. They could then rearrange the other furniture so that Barbara could bring in new chairs and a couch. Ben gave his blessing to new window treatments except in his new bedroom. Those curtains had been chosen by Marie, and like the settee chosen by her, he wanted to keep them. One of the bedrooms upstairs would become a sewing room when there were no guests using it, and another of course would be a nursery.

On the issue of the china, Ben balked. Barbara then suggested that Marie's china be saved for special occasions, and she would get some more practical everyday tableware but with a pretty pattern. Hoss looked at her with a new appreciation after that suggestion. Ben was willing to try that solution. None of that furniture buying could be accomplished because it was early February, but Barbara and Hoss ordered new tableware at the mercantile, and she picked out bolts of cloth to make new curtains. They were working as a team, and it was clear that their marriage had a good foundation even before it happened.

By the day before the wedding, they knew that the barn dance was out of the question because of a cold snap. The brothers hauled hay and straw bales to the front of the porch to set the informal mood and also add more protection from the cold and wind as guests arrived the next day. The entire wedding took place on the Ponderosa and inside the main house. The guests were all the close friends of the couple and their family members. Joe stood with Hoss and Cici with Barbara. Adam had encouraged Hoss to choose his younger brother as best man because he knew how important it was to Joe. Barbara was looking pale as the ceremony progressed and Cici stepped up next to her and handed her a cup of tea that Adam had surreptitiously brought from the kitchen. Barbara drank it in one gulp and then realized it had been spiked with honey and a little brandy as well as a few of Hop Sings special herbs. The taste was highly unusual, but the burst of energy from it and the soothing warmth of the liquid got her through the ceremony. After the 'I do' from each, the minister told the groom to kiss the bride. Hoss blushed and then did just that.

There was food on the dining table and punch and dessert on another table in the great room. The musicians played through the dinner and then for almost two hours more as the small group of revelers enjoyed the wedding. Finally it was time for all to go home. Ranch hands brought each carriage up to the front door and guests departed. At last it was just Cici and Adam. Ben walked into his bedroom and emerged with a small valise and walked over and picked up another valise from his desk.

"Pa, where ya going?"

"Adam and Cici have invited me to stay with them for a couple of days. Adam and I will be going over the ledgers and some of the contracts that we will start on in spring. This will be more convenient for us, and you will be here to watch over the house. Hop Sing will be leaving tomorrow morning to visit relatives for a couple of days too. He has the kitchen all stocked with wonderful food, and Barbara can cook anything she wants as well. The mixes for the tea will be on the table in the kitchen. Iris and Mark are staying with Joe and Rachel and the girls. They were so excited about the adventure, they left without saying goodbye. The house is all yours until Tuesday evening."

Hoss and Barbara smiled a lot at that. They had planned to wait a few weeks before taking time for a honeymoon because the weather was too harsh and unpredictable at this time. Now they could have a mini honeymoon right away.

 

Chapter 14

The next big event happened sooner than anyone had expected. That night, Cici woke Adam because she was so uncomfortable and was having a lot of back pain. He massaged her back, but it didn't seem to give her much comfort because with a short time of the pain easing, it was back again. After the third time, Adam started watching the clock. Then when the fifth set of pains struck, he asked Cici if she thought she might be in labor.

"How do I know? I've never been in labor before, but I wouldn't think my back is what would be hurting. Maybe I just participated in too much today with the wedding ceremony, the dinner, the dancing, the ride there and the ride back."

"Your pains are hitting about fifteen minutes apart. Seems to be rather regular for something like muscle cramps or fatigue."

"It's too early. The baby isn't due for three weeks yet. Paul told me that."

"Well I'm going to send Matt for Paul. You just try to relax here. I'll be right back."

Ben heard the commotion as Adam left the house and then came back. He heard a rider leave, and came out of the guest bedroom just as Adam reached the top of the stairs. His son was rubbing his arms and shivering.

"I think Cici is in labor. Kim is heating water and getting a stack of clean sheets and towels together just in case. I'm going to sit with Cici and Matt went to get Paul. Pa, is there anything I'm forgetting?"

"Well maybe take a few deep breaths, put on a shirt, and button your fly. Then go sit with Cici and I'll wait downstairs for Paul."

Ben shook his head and smiled. He walked down the stairs and waited for the doctor. It was nice waiting for the doctor in this situation. After Paul arrived with Mrs. Bayer, they shooed Adam out, and he came downstairs and stalked around the room like a caged cougar. Ben tried several times to get him to sit, but nothing worked. After about four hours, there was a scream from upstairs and Adam stood at the foot of the stairs holding his breath. Then there was a wail, and several people talking, and he breathed again. He wanted to go up right away but Ben held his arm and said just give them a little time to clean everything up.

As soon as Paul appeared at the top of the stairs to tell him he could see his wife and child, Adam raced up the stairs and to their bedroom. In the doorway, he halted. Sitting in the bed and leaning on pillows propped against the headboard, Cici sat holding a little bundle.

"Paul says your son is perfectly healthy although a little small. Nothing to worry about though as he's big enough, and I can swear to that."

Adam walked in to sit on the side of the bed in awe of this moment. The woman he loved so much and now he had a baby to love as well.

"Do you want to hold David Michael?"

Adam took Davy into his arms and snuggled him to his chest.

"Paul said that with him being a little early and a little small, the risk of the delivery was much less. All is well."

Downstairs, Ben and Paul sampled a little of Adam's brandy.

"Paul, this is a wonderful day. Hoss is married again. Joe and Rachel are together with their children, and that family is whole again. And now there is a little boy on the Ponderosa again. Life is good again."


End file.
